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OUR LORD'S 
GREAT PROPHECY, 

AND ITS PARALLELS THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE, 

HARMONIZED AND EXPOUNDED: 

COMPRISING A 

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WITH A 

PARTICULAR EXAMINATION OF THE PRINCIPAL PASSAGES 

RELATING TO 

THE SECOND COMING OP CHRIST, THE END OF THE WORLD, THE NEW 
CREATION, THE MILLENNIUM, THE RESURRECTION, THE JUDG- 
MENT, THE CONVERSION AND RESTORATION OF THE JEWS, 

AND A 

SYNOPSIS OF JOSEPHUS' HISTORY OP THE JEWISH WAR. 






y& 



BY REV. D: D. BUCK. 

w 

AUTHOB OF "THB OHBI& TO iS *tt « "'A DIVINB FAMILY," RKJ. 




NEW YOtarStfTOBmtN : 
MILLER, ORTON & MULLIGAN, 

Now York : 25 Park Row— Auburn: 107 Geuesee-st. 

1856. 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-six by 

D. D. BUCK, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of 

New- York. 



The Lij 
washington 



PREFACE. 



To the Reader: 

From the title page you will learn something respecting 
the nature and importance of the subjects discussed in this 
Treatise. The author cannot rationally hope to prevail with 
all his readers to adopt his views and methods of expounding 
portions of Scripture, which have been the subject of so much 
disputation and perplexity. He does hope, however, to awa- 
ken additional interest in the important subjects brought un- 
der notice, and to excite increased attention to those prophecies 
whose fulfillment must greatly affect the destiny of the whole 
world. 

Be apprised, Reader, before you proceed further, of one 
trait in the character of this work : you will find that the au- 
thor does not attempt to explain mysteries, or to defend dispu- 
ted positions, by merely advancing his own opinions. He 
will, in every important instance, cite you to the law and to 
the testimony. You will meet with some disclosures that are 
sufficiently startling, and with some arguments and illustra- 
tions which are entirely new. And you will perceive that the 
whole matter has been treated with originality and indepen- 
dency. There is but little borrowed from other writers ; but 
what there is, is duly credited. The earnest, prayerful effort 
of the author has been to be right — exactly right — in all 



IV PREFACE. 

matters pertaining to the great subject in hand, so far as God 
has deemed it wise to reveal the truth to men. The author has 
all along proceeded upon the supposition, that God designed 
the Holy Scriptures for the benefit of mankind ; and that, for 
this reason, they may be understood. 

Of the origin of this work, something, perhaps, should be 
known. The peculiar features of the Harmony, and the gov- 
erning principle and arguments of the Exposition, are not 
new to the author : they are the result of several years' re- 
search and reflection. Indeed, it has been the principal sub- 
ject of inquiry and investigation for several years. 
f The preparation of the work for the press, however, has 
been hurried : too much hurried, probably, for the author's 
personal good, or for the popularity of his publication. It 
has all been written within the last twelve months. And the 
labor of composing has been continually interrupted — some- 
times for several weeks together — by much personal illness, 
by almost continual family affliction, by unusually heavy pas- 
toral labors, by a number of calls for extra lectures and ad- 
dresses, at home, and in other places ; not to mention the 
perplexities and delays occasioned by a change of residence, 
and the necessary additions to ordinary ministerial labor, in 
closing up the affairs of one charge and beginning those of 
another. 

A large proportion of the work has been composed while 
the majority, perhaps, of its readers were quietly slumbering. 
With these facts before him, the candid, and especially the 
Christian, reader will not fail to make some allowance for such 
errors and imperfections as must, in the nature of things, more 
or less mar the productions of human wisdom. Let the critic 
remember that the golden rule applies to " all things whatso- 
ever ;" and, consequently, it must apply to criticism. 



PREFACE. V 

Finally, Header, if you would derive most advantage from 
the perusal of this work, be earnestly advised, (1.) To read 
the whole work through, in the order in which it is composed ; 
for you will find that all the parts sustain a close relation, and 
in some cases, the connection is very important. (2.) En- 
deavor to understand the author's position and meaning in 
every place. (3.) Be sure to read the Notes, — especially 
those in the Appendix — in their appropriate connections. 
(4.) Do not, on any account, fail to examine the synopsis of 
Josephus' History of the Jewish War, when you come to the 
place where it is referred to. (5.) And certainly you ought 
to keep your Bible open before you, and refer to it as often 
as a complete comprehension of the quotations and references 
may require ; never forgetting that, after all, it is not what man 
may say, but what God has said, that will prove decisive in 
human controversy. (6.) Need it be said to Christians — in 
reference to such important subjects — examine carefully, pa- 
tiently, prayerfully ; desiring and seeking to be divinely en- 
lightened ? 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

THE HARMONY 



CHAPTER I. 

Principal subject — The Harmony. 

Differs from others — When first designed — How originated — Effect of Trans- 
positions — xvii. chap, of Luke — Relation of the several Records to each 
other — Matthew's record adopted as the principal one — Reasons — Why 
neither of the Evangelists was inspired to preserve the whole Discourse — 
"Wise Design — Testimony — How applied to Prophecy — Perfection m 
Imperfection — Design of Mystery — Relation of Parts to the "Whole — 
Illustrations, Page 31 

CHAPTER II. 

Principal subject — The Transposition op Luke xvn. 31-33. 

A principal difficulty in expounding the Lord's prophetic Discourse — Two 
classes of Interpreters — Perplexity of the Orthodox Divines — Fanciful Ex- 
positions — How to detect the Transposition — "Which record should be cor- 
rected — Are Luke xvii. and Matt. xxiv. parallel? — "Which record is most 
complete — The Saviour's method of Teaching — "When the Apostles were 
inspired — Character of the first References to the subjects of the great 
Prophetic Discourse — Other Transpositions — The Question at issue, . . 39 

CHAPTER III. 

Principal subject — The Interrogations. 

State of the case — How Christ began his Discourse — How many things were 
comprised in the Questions proposed — What is indicated by the different 
forms in which the Inquiries are preserved — Impressions of the Disciples — 
Why three events were blended in their Inquiries — How they obtained 
their impressions — What probably occasioned the Difference in recording 



Till CONTENTS. 

the Inquiries — Importance of considering this — Cause of Indefiniteness 
of many Expositions of this Discourse — The true method of Reasoning — 
Illustrations, 45 

CHAPTER IV. 

Principal subject — Preliminary Considerations relating to 
the Exposition. 

"When the Disciples were fully Inspired — Their liability to mistakes, pre- 
viously to their Inspiration — Examples — Principal Design of Christ's final 
Discourses — A principal Error of the Disciples — Jewish understanding of 
the Prophecies — Examples — Facts to be considered — Leading Themes of 
the first Gospel Preachers — The Kingdom — The Judgment — The End of 
the world — Impression of the two sons of Zebedee — "When the Kingdom 
of Messiah was expected to begin — Origin of that Expectation — Christ's 
Object in giving the Discourse forming the subject of this Treatise — State 
of the case summarily exhibited — Why Christ did not previously correct 
the Errors of his Disciples — Divine method of Instruction, 52 

CHAPTER V. 

Principal subject — Theory of Exposition. 

Benefits of a Theory — Illustrations from Ancient Philosophy — Great names 
— Preparatory advisements — Character of the Theory of Exegesis — How 
to obtain a correct Theory — The case stated — What the Saviour design- 
ed — Illustrative Parable — Radical Mistake — How occasioned — Principal 
elements of the true Theory — Difficulties — What is attempted — General 
bearing of the Exposition — Origin of Universalism — Universalist and 
Orthodox Exegesis compared — Test of Truth and Error, 63 



PART II. 
THE EXPOSITION 



CHAPTER I. 

Principal subject — Destruction of the Temple. 

Why Christ's attention was directed to the Temple — General form and extent 
of the Temple — Why Herod's was called the Second Temple — Stones in 
the wall — Adornments — Why called Gifts — Improbability of the pre- 
diction — The Romans trying to save the Temple — How the destruction 
began — Two days' Conflagration — Council Debate — The Ptomans in the 



CONTENTS. IX 

Inner Court — Storming the Temple — The Holy of Holies on fire — Des- 
peration of the Jews — Astonishment of the Romans — Progress of the 
flames — Titus in the Holy of Holies — Last effort to save the building — 
How the Prediction was finally fulfilled, 69 

CHAPTER II. 

Principal subject — Calamities of the Jews previously to 
the Siege of Jerusalem. 

Supposition of the disciples concerning the Coming of Christ, and of the End 
of the World — Design of our Lord's Discourse — Caution against Deceivers 
— Source of danger — Impostors claiming to be the Christ that was cruci- 
fied — Plausibility of their pretensions — Wars and Rumors of Wars — Pro- 
gress in the commotions — Character of Christ's Predictions — Famines and 
Pestilences — Earthquakes — Singular Comments — Objections — Criticisms 
— Literal and figurative Language — Earthquakes in divers places — Signs 
in the heavens — Fearful sights on the earth — Indications — An Army in 
the clouds — The Supernatural Voice — The wonderful Warning — Some- 
thing still worse — Affecting Illustration, 78 

CHAPTER III. 

Principal subject — Sufferings of Christians previously 
to the Siege of Jerusalem. 

Correction of the Record — Illustrations — Beginning of the Persecution — 
Progress — Saul of Tarsus — Different forms of Jewish persecution — Per- 
secution by others — Chronological accuracy of the Prophecy — Persecution 
overruled for good — Why the Jews persecuted — Why the Heathen — Pe- 
ter before the Sanhedrim — Stephen — Paul before the Rulers — God's 
design in permitting Persecution — Good result of the Appeal to Caesar — 
Comfort in suffering — Why forbidden to premeditate — Perversion of a 
text — When we may, and when we may not, premeditate — What is meant 
by Taking no thought — Nature of Apostolic Inspiration — What is meant 
by giving them a Mouth and Wisdom — Examples — Curious way to resist 
Logic — An Orator in Chains — Beginning of Apostacy in the Church — 
Treachery — Progress of Apostacy — Terrible Result — Pattern Age of the 
Church — The World and the Church at variance — What is meant by not 
a Hair of the head perishing — How to possess our souls in Patience, . 95 

CHAPTER IV. 

Principal subject — Corruption and Declension of the 
Church. 

False Prophets — Two classes of them — Influence upon the Church — Conso- 
lation and Warning — What preserves the Church — Difficult Text — 



X CONTENTS. 

Strange Salvation — Curious Comment — The Truth finally discovered — A 
true Exposition — Import of the term "World — Examples — How extensi vely 
the Gospel was Preached in the Apostolic Age — Meaning of The End — 
Erroneous Impression — Explanation — Design of the Prophecy — Anew 
Explanation — When, and How, the Jewish Dispensation was consumma- 
ted — The Beginning and the Ending — Objects of that Dispensation — 
Its effect upon common Providence — Error of the Jews — How corrected 
by Christ — Objection — Answer, 115 

CHAPTER V. 

Principal subject — Flight of the Christians. 

Progressive order of the Prophecy — What is indicated by the Inquiries which 
led to the Prophecy — When did the Christians flee from Jerusalem? — 
Difficulty in determining — Strange blunders in quoting History — What 
was the Signal for beginning the Flight — Abortive efforts to determine — 
The Source of Information — Probable time of the Flight — Three Consid- 
erations — Interesting Parenthesis — Further Information concerning the 
Flight — Two Aspects of the Signal — Wisdom of Christ's Admonition — 
Benefit to Christians of all countries — Description of the Flight — Regu- 
lations of the Flight — How the Families were preserved — Our Lord's Proph- 
ecy partly a Compilation — Why those days were called Days of Vengeance 

— How long they were to continue — An important consideration — Con- 
dition of Women with young Children — Time of the Year when the Flight 
occurred — Why not on the Sabbath — Numbers Destroyed and taken Cap- 
tive during the War — The Elect for whose sake those days were short- 
ened, 130 

CHAPTER VI. 

Principal subjects — False Christs and False Prophets. 

Renewed appearance of Impostors -r- Why so successful — Two-fold Caution 

— Simon Magus — Menander, his Successor — Claims to be Jesus Christ — 
Character of the Signs and Wonders wrought by the Impostors — Why the 
Jews, who were imposed upon by false Miracles, did not credit the true — • 
Illustration from modern Infidelity — Modern Wonder-workers — Deceiving 
the Elect — Import of the phrase, "If it be possible" — Facts in the case — 
Origin and Names of the principal Heresies during the Primitive Times — 
Origin of the False Christs and False Prophets — Two ways in which they 
appeared — Why Christ was expected in " the Secret Chambers" — Use of 
Josephus' History , 155 

CHAPTER VII 

Principal subjects — The Coming- of Christ, and the History 
of Jerusalem since the Eoman War. 

Does the 27th verse refer to the Romans ? — Opinions of eminent Divines — 
The Issue announced — How the question is to be settled — The Passage 



CONTENTS. XI 

examined — Its designed use — Things to be considered — The single bear- 
ing of the Illustration — The Carcass and the Eagles — Two Applications — 
How one could be taken and another left — An important Emendation of 
Matthew's Record — Position of the passage from Luke — Destruction and 
Dispersion of the Jews — Different from previous Dispersions — Jerusalem 
in the possession of the Gentiles — Import of the expression, "Trodden 
down of the Gentiles" — The city in the times of Constantine — Julian the 
Apostate — His attempt to defeat the fulfillment of the Prophecy — Result 
— How the city is to be in the possession of the Gentiles — Import of the 
expression, "Times of the Gentiles," 165 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Principal Subject — Darkening the Sun, &c. Various In- 
terpretations Reviewed. 

The Figurative Theory not very Ancient — Influence of a Mistake — Nature 
of the Argument — Plan of the Argument — Two Branches of the Figura- 
tive Theory — The Difference — Double Sense Theory — Robinson's — Ar- 
guments used in sustaining the Figurative Theories — Examination and 
Refutation — Review of "Whitby — What led him into his Peculiar Views — 
Difficulties of Error — Whitby against Grotius and Whiston — Newton's 
Theory — The Argument on " Immediately after the Tribulation of those 
days," reviewed — Josephus — Facts — Appeal to Logic — Conclusion — 
The Argument relating to the Figurative Language of the Old Testament 
considered — The Prophecy of Joel — The Question Settled — An Exegeti- 
cal Curiosity — Peter's Reference to the Prophecy of Joel — How did he 
understand it? — Other specimens from the Old Testament — An important 
Fact in the case — Origin and Proprieties of Metaphorical Language, . 189 

CHAPTER IX. 

Principal subject — Darkening of the Luminaries, and the 
attending circumstances. 

Preliminaries — Plan of the Argument — "The Tribulation of those days" — 
The days defined — Important Consideration — An Omitted Verse — How 
long the Time is to last — Conclusion of this branch of the Argument- 
Darkening the Luminaries — An Error of the Literalists — Nature of Meta- 
phorical Language — Where is the Original ? — How the Scriptures speak 
to men — Important Distinction — The Prophecy of Joel and of Christ 
compared — The specific Time and Circumstances of Darkening the Lumina- 
ries — Parallel Predictions — Parallelism of Times and Events — Gog and 
Magosr — Objection, that St. John describes the great Battle as taking 
place after the Millenium — John and Ezekiel Harmonized — Different Ex- 
positions compared 230 



XII CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

Principal subject — The Coming of Christ. Examination of 

SEVERAL RELEVANT SUBJECTS. 

How the Subject is Introduced — Erroneous Interpretations — Two Forms of 
the Interpretation — "Whitby's — Newton's — The first Reviewed — Logic ver- 
sus History — The second Reviewed — Injurious Tendencies — Animadver- 
sions — Objection founded on Scripture Precedents — Great Mistake — Impor- 
tant Difference — Old Testament Metaphors — Objection founded on Christ's 
Declaration to the High Priests, Matt. xxvi. 64 — Objection founded on 
Christ's remark concerning John, ch. xxi. 22 — How difficult to defend Er- 
ror — Objection founded on Christ's Declaration that some should not die 
till they had seen him coming in his kingdom, Matt. xvi. 27 — True Inter- 
pretation — Dissimilarity between that Passage and the one under comment 
— How David Typified Christ — Two Kingdoms, or the same in two different 
Dispensations, 249 

CHAPTER XI. 

Principal subject — The Coming of Christ. Review of the 
Figurative Theory. 

Remarkable Exposition — Its Objectionable Character — Defectiveness, even 
if the Text be Figurative — Common Rules of Interpretation Reversed — 
No Parallel Texts, with one exception, in the Old Testament — The Point 
to be proved — No Historic Proof of the Figurative Theory — Inconsistent 
with Christ's Mediatorial Offices — A Word for Universal] sts — Character 
of the Mediatorial Dispensation — Fatal Results — Self-contradiction — Va- 
riance with the "Words of Christ — Ingenious Evasion — Singular Logic — 
Embarrassment of Commentators — How Occasioned — Dr. Tower's Opinion 
— Dr. Campbell's — Dr. Mede's — Tense of the Saviour's words, 271 

CHAPTER XII. 

Principal subject — Judgment Advent of Christ. The true 

Exposition. 

Order of Events — Sign of the Son of Man — Distinguished from Christ him- 
self — "Where it will appear — Its Kature — Difference between a Sign and 
a "Wonder — The Sign the occasion of universal Mourning — The Reason — 
Effect upon the Jews — A day of salvation to them — The Reason — A 
Scene of mourning among the Jews — Occasion and Result — Literal Com- 
ing of Christ — Scoffers, and their Excuse — Believers, and their Danger — 
The Personal Coming Proved — Source of the knowledge of the Thessalo- 
nians — Design of the Parables in connection with the Prophecy — Christ's 
application of the Parables — The Judgment at his Coming — Extent of 
Time embraced in the Prophecy — Conclusion of the Prophecy, 291 



CONTENTS. Xlll 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. Review of vari- 
ous Expositions. 

Applied by some to the Escape of Christians from Judea — Objection founded 
on the Chronology of the Events — Objection from its being unwarranted 
by the Language of the Text — Also from its conflict with Christ's own 
Declaration — Difference between the Comment objected to and the Words 
of Christ — Encouragement of Sceptics — The passage applied to the Call 
of the Gentiles — Keview — Misapplication of Texts — Erroneous Impres- 
sion — The Issue taken — Limitation of the Gospel to the Jews — When the 
Gentiles were called — How extensively the Gospel prevailed previously 
to the Fall of Jerusalem — St. Paul's Testimony — Eusebius' — Mosheim's — > 
Surprising Statement — When the Gospel Kingdom began — Result of the 
Fall of Jerusalem — State of the Church subsequently — Professor Stuart's 
Opinions — His method and spirit of treating the passage — Is it a literal 
Trumpet? — Extremities of the Heavens — Whence are the Elect to be 
gathered? — Difference between Accuracy and Literality — God's Trum- 
pet — Can the Dead hear ? — Illustrations, 306 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. 

The True Exposition — A Universal Gathering — Who are the Elect? — Ap- 
plied to believing Gentiles — Scripture Proofs — Election of the Gentiles — 
To what Privileges — For what Reason — Applied to the Israelites — Scrip- 
ture Proofs — Reason of their Election — Chosen as a People — By an ever- 
lasting Covenant — They should be preserved Forever — St. Paul's View — 
Two great Divisions of the Elect — Relation of the two — Relation of the 
two-fold Gathering — How the dead will be Gathered — Design of the Res- 
urrection — Hope of the ancient Saints — Who will be raised at the first 
Resurrection — The Elect in two Conditions — God's purpose to gather them 
all — When — Where — Why — How — Views of the Apostolical Church — 
Gathering of those who will be alive at the coming of the Lord — The final 
Assembly — Examples of Gathering of the Elect — Design of the Transfig- 
uration on the Mount, 320 

CHAPTER XV. 

Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. The subject 

APPLIED TO THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

The point to be established — Prophecies of Jeremiah, identifying the People, 
their Restoration, Rebuilding of Jerusalem, Christ under the name of David, 
the New Covenant, <fcc. — Further Quotations referring to the People, the 
Time, the Event, the Extent, Ac. — Confirmation by Hosea — Prophecies of 
Isaiah, relating to the Branch, the Ensign, the Gathering, the Union, the 



XIV CONTENTS. 

Conversion, the Great Battle, the Signs in the Heavens, the Destruction of 
the "Wicked, the Judgment of Satan, the Resurrection of the Saints, the 
Coming of the Lord, the New Heavens and Earth, <fcc. — Prophecies of 
Ezekiel, relating particularly to Christ's Reign over Israel, the Renewal of 
Palestine, the Conversion and Restoration, the happy Results, <fec. . . . 340 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. 

Applied to the Restoration of the Jews — Reasons for continuing the Subject — 
Ezekiel's Vision of the Dry Bones — Design, and Substance of the Vision — 
God's own Interpretation — Figurative Language not used to interpret 
Figurative — Final Union, Gathering, and Blessedness of Israel — A King- 
dom under the reign of Messiah — The Battle of Gog and Magog — Referred 
to in other parts of the Bible — Interpretation — Prophecy of Zechariah — 
The Great Battle — The Lord Revealed — The Victory — Prophecy of 
Amos — The Tabernacle of David raised up — Happy Condition of the 
People — Prophecy of Moses — The History and Prophecy blended — True 
conversion, and real Restoration — St. Paul's Reasoning — Synopsis of the 
Argument — Twenty -nine Particulars in the Argument — The Conclusion — 
Angelic Agency in Gathering the Elect — Examples — How the present 
Dispensation will be terminated, 363 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Principal subjects — Redemption of the Saints. " This Gene- 
ration" — Renovation of the Earth and Heavens. 

Change in the character of the Discourse — Redemption drawing nigh— - 
Nature of the Redemption — When and How it will be effected — The Fig- 
tree — The Kingdom of God — The Parables all relate to One Period — 
Nature of the Period — Hope of the Saints — " This Generation" — Newton's 
Definition — Whitby's Review — New Testament use — Divine principle of 
Government — Dr. Clarke's View — Opinion of Dr. Tower — Of Mr. Mede — 
Wolfius — Dr. Sykes — Ancient Divines — English Definitions — Passing 
away of the Earth and Heavens — Use of the declaration — Ignorance of the 
Time — Appropriate Duty — Nature of the Advent — Pre-Millenial — Proofs- 
Indications — Condition of the Glutton, the Drunkard and the Worldly- 
minded — Unexpectedness of the Event — Consequence, , 381 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Principal subject — Preparation to meet the Son of man at 
his Coming. 

Ultimate Reason — The World before the Flood — Application — A time of 
general Separation — Illustrations — Two Men in the Field — T\ro Women 
at the Mill — Renewed Admonition — fllustration of the Unguarded House 



CONTENTS. XV 

— Application — Illustration of the Master on a Journey — Duties of the 
Servants — The Porter — Application — A Model Servant — The Unan- 
swered Question — The Happy Servant — The Servant Exalted — The Evil 
Servant — His Belief and Conduct — The Reason — Application — The Un- 
expected Return — Reason — Result — Importance of Right Views — The 
Terrible Doom — The Cause — The Contrast — Renewed Admonition — The 
Final Charge — The 25th Chap, of Matthew — Its relation to the 24th — 
Design of the Parable of the Ten Virgins — Parable of the Talents — Why 
the Description of the Judgment was deferred to the close of the Discourse 
— Conclusion, 407 



APPENDIX I. 



Note A, — Refers to Mr. Strong's Harmony, Page 421 

Note B, — A Historical Proof that one of the False Christs pretended to be 
the Christ that had once before been sent into the world, 421 

Note C, — Additional Proof that the Impostors might deceive the Elect, 421 

Note D, — {Very important,) — The Opinions of Dr. Tower, and other eminent 
men, in relation to the duration of the Tribulation of those days ; showing 
that the time is not yet expired, 421 

Note E, — Mr. Lowth's, Mr. Mede's, and Dr. Tower's opinion respecting the 
Gog and Magog of Ezekiel, and the Gog and Magog of St John, 422 

Note F, — Refers to the commotion of the Sea at the time of the Second Ad- 
vent ; and how it will occasion the distress and perplexity of the nations, 423 

Note G, — {Long and very important,) Relating to the character of the Media- 
torial Dispensation: and showing the inconsistency of ascribing to Christ 
the judgments that were inflicted upon the Jews. The passages in the Bible 
which speak of Christ as taking vengeance are all examined, and shown 
to refer to the next dispensation, 423 

Note H, — Explaining how the Sign of the Son of man in heaven may be 
seen by all nations of the earth, 427 

Note I, — Explains some obscure portions of the last three chapters of Zech- 
ariah, to which there have been previous references, 428 

Note J, — {Long and important,) — Explaining why our Lord resumed the sub- 
ject of his Coming, after alluding to it Referring also to the Time, Cir- 
cumstances, and Order of Events, when Christ comes, as the Son of man, 
and is Inaugurated into his everlasting Kingdom, 429 



XVI CONTENTS. 

Note K, — Refers to the specific Time (in relation to other events) when the 
Last Trump shall be sounded, 432 

Note L, — Relates to the relative Order of the Events connected with the 
Second Coming of Christ, 433 

Note M, — Refers to the practice and propriety of incorporating the Name of 
God with persons and places. The Note has special reference to the pre- 
diction that Jerusalem is yet to be called, The Lord our Righteousness, 434 

Note N, — {Long and very important,) — Relates principally to the Location 
of the everlasting Residence of the Saints ; the Necessity and Design of 
the Resurrection of the Dead ; and the character of the New Heavens and 
New Earth. In this note is a long and highly interesting extract from the 
Sermon on this subject by Dr. Chalmers, 434 

Note 0, — Shows how the Theory of this Exposition harmonizes the appa- 
rently confused and conflicting descriptions of the closing up of the present 
Dispensation, 437 

Note P, — {Long and very Important,) — Gives the Doctrine of the Millennium 
as held by the Primitive Christian Church, 439 

Note Q, — {Long and very important,) — A critical examination of the term, 
This Generation, showing the Primary and Scripture use, 442 

Note R, — Relates to an inconsistent method of explaining terms which relate 
to the whole world, by applying them to the land of Jvdea, 444 

Note S, — Treats of the Influence which the doctrine maintained in this Trea- 
tise will be likely to exert upon the benevolent enterprises of the age, 444 



APPENDIX II. 



Pabt I. — A Synopsis of Josephus' History of the Jewish War. Period — 
From the time Judea became a Roman Province, to the flight of Cestiua 
Gallus, 447 

Paet II. — Period — From the flight of Cestius, to the Siege of Jerusalem 
by Titus. Here is shown the Occasion, Beginning, Progress, and Re- 
sult of the Jewish and Roman "War. Every Battle, Encampment, March, 
and Siege is noticed. This Appendix is highly important to a proper un- 
derstanding of the Lord's Prophecy, -±58 



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(29) 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



PAET FIRST. 



CHAPTER I. 

Principal subject — The Habmony. 

Differs from others — When first designed — How originated — Effect of Trans- 
positions — xvii. chap, of Luke — Relation of the different Records to each 
other — Matthew's record adopted as the principal one — Reasons — Why 
neither of the Evangelists was inspired to preserve the whole of the Lord's 
Discourse — Wise Design — Testimony — How applied to Prophecy — Per- 
fection in Imperfection — Design of Mystery — Relation of Parts to the 
Whole — Illustrations. 

1. It will be perceived at once that the Harmony herewith 
submitted is arranged after a new method. Several have 
been examined, and from some of them important suggestions 
have been derived ; but in this arrangement no one has been 
followed. Indeed, the author has found no one to follow.* 
In a few instances the author's convictions have led him to 
differ from the usual arrangement of verses, as found in the 
various Harmonies which he has examined. 

2. The author takes pleasure in acknowledging himself 
indebted for several valuable thoughts, to an article in the 
Methodist Quarterly Keview for July, 1842, on the Coming 
of Christ 

Even so long ago as the great agitation on the subject of 
the Second Advent, in 1842 and '43, the author had in 
contemplation the publication of a Treatise on the xxiv. chap- 

*See Note A in the Appendix. 



32 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ter of Matthew ; and did, in fact, several years since, give 
several expository lectures, which embodied the principal ele- 
ments of this Harmony and Exposition. 

3. The design which led to the formation of this Harmony, 
made it desirable that all which was spoken by our Lord in 
the discourse under notice, should be constantly and connect- 
edly before the eye. The paragraph and verse Harmonies in 
common use are a great assistance in this respect ; but still 
the reader is under the necessity of forming in his own mind 
a Harmony, having more particular reference to the collocation 
of the sentences and words of the discourse. 

4. From this necessity of a mental Harmony, to supply the 
common deficiency of the written, the idea was suggested of 
writing out in full what must of necessity exist in the mind, 
in order to be rigidly systematic in the examination of the 
prophecy. It is certain that neither of the three evangelists 
has preserved all that the Saviour uttered ; for we find in 
each some things which are omitted by the others. And it is 
also certain that whatever we find in any of the three, as a 
part of the discourse, must have been spoken on that occa- 
sion ; otherwise, the record would not be authentic. 

5. Now, whatever was spoken, must have been said in 
some definite order. Some things were referred to before 
some other things ; as, for example, the coming of the false 
Christs before the coming of the true Christ. And it is obvi- 
ously of great importance to ascertain, as nearly as possible, 
the exact order in which the various items of the discourse 
succeeded one another in the original delivery. 

But this cannot be done by merely arranging oppositely 
the different verses and paragraphs, as they are found in the 
several records. It is necessary to have a natural collocation 
of all the sentences and words ; for this will give us the con- 
secutive ideas that constitute the discourse. Nothing short of 
this will perfectly answer the purpose in a critical analysis of 
the composition. 

6. This is attempted in this newly arranged Harmony. 
But with how much success, the reader who has critically 
investigated the subject, is best qualified to decide. The 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 33 

position of every sentence, and of every word, has been sub- 
jected to a thorough examination. In some places the author 
was in doubt concerning the proper place of a verse, or sen- 
tence. But in no instance did this occur in what may be 
termed the more important portions of the prophecy. 

The Harmony of Muenscher has been of much real service 
in transcribing the sacred text ; though it has not been in all 
cases adopted in the arrangement of either the sentences or 
verses. 

7. Notwithstanding the fact, that the Harmony herewith 
presented to the reader, has brought together into one con- 
tinuous narrative all that is recorded in the three inspired 
sketches of our Lord's discourse, yet, as it may be perceived, 
the arrangement of the sentences does not sensibly disarrange 
the regular succession of thought. 

And this collocation of all the sentences in the several 
records, has been made without any respect to the literary 
character of the composition, as amended ; the only guiding 
inquiry was respecting the place where each properly belongs. 

Yet how unbroken and regular the succession of thought ! 
The transitions in the amended composition are usually even 
less abrupt than in the individual records. 

In some cases even greater perspicuity and force are given 
to the preceding and succeeding verses, by the introduction 
of omitted sentences or verses. See this exemplified in the 
effect produced by placing the 22d verse of Luke between 
the 18th and 19th verses of Matthew. And there, undenia- 
bly, is the proper position of that verse. 

See, also, what a difference it sometimes makes in the 
definiteness of the sentiment, by the transfer of a single ex- 
pression, as in the 33d verse of Matthew. 

8. As the xvii. chapter of Luke also contains something on 
the same subject, it was considered advisable to give particu- 
lar prominency to the references to that chapter. 

By noticing the frequent transpositions of the verses of 

that chapter, as they are arranged in harmony with the more 

extended discourse, it will be observed that the succession of 

thought differs essentially from the order in the discourse in 

3 



34 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Matthew ; and in several other particulars it is quite dissimi- 
lar to the one forming the subject of this Treatise. 

It ought not, therefore, to guide us in deciding the consecu- 
tive relations of the sentences in the more full and perfect 
record. 

One Of the transpositions is so very important, and has so 
greatly embarrassed the usual exposition of the prophecy in 
Matthew, that it has been deemed' expedient to consider the 
matter in a chapter by itself. 

9. It will be perceived that the record of Matthew has 
been selected, in the effort to preserve the original order of 
the discourse. The principal reasons for this, are, (1.) Because 
the Holy Ghost seems to have designed the record of Matthew 
for the principal history of this remarkable prophecy. 

The other histories appear to be, to some extent, supple- 
mentary, and designed to preserve what was omitted by the 
first. But, in order to be perspicuous, it was necessary for 
the supplementary writers to give a sufficiency of the original 
discourse to show where their emendations belong, and thus 
fill out to completion the original record. 

10. On a careful examination of the three records, it will 
not usually be difficult to know just where to put the sup- 
plemental portions ; for Divine "Wisdom has so directed, that 
throughout each of the records, there are enough of the 
prominent points of general agreement to guide us in forming 
all the points of the discourse into a complete whole. (2.) A 
second reason for adopting the sketch of Matthew as the 
governing record, is, because it is not only more full and 
perfect, but it is also connected with a succeeding chapter 
which is omitted by both the others. Perhaps the principal 
reason why the other evangelists were not moved to preserve 
the important parables, and the description of the judgment 
scene, which are found in the xxv. chapter of Matthew, was, 
because the first historian was inspired to make so perfect a 
record, that supplementary additions were unnecessary. 

11. If it should be inquired, why the Holy Spirit should 
move the first historian to keep such a perfect record of the 
illustrative parables and judgment scene, as to render sup- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 35 

plemental emendations unnecessary, while, in the more 
important portions of the prophecy, the first record is so 
incomplete as to need additions ? The answer would be this : 
It has pleased God to proceed in the matter on the usual plan 
of giving testimony, both in the publication and preservation 
of important facts. 

But in using testimony to convince the world, it was 
deemed important to have more than one witness, that " in 
the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might be 
established." The same wisdom that guides the best human 
governments in matters of testimony, would have chosen this 
very method of communicating divine truth, if it had com- 
prehended the things which are divine as the things which 
pertain to this world. 

Inspiration has not erred in conforming the method of reve- 
lation to the established judicial usages of the wisest govern- 
ments. 

12. But if the primary witness had been led to give a full, 
regular, and perfect narration of the matter, the other wit- 
nesses would have had either nothing to testify, or else woultf 
have been compelled to testify to precisely the same thing* 
as the other ; and which, in reporting a discourse, must havi 
required the exact preservation of the language and order. 
In the former case, this would have been a virtual exclusion 
of all additional testimony ; in the latter, it would have too 
much the appearance of collusion. 

13. It is not a new idea, that, in important matters of fact 
and prophecy, the Holy Spirit has purposely shut out every 
appearance, and every rational suspicion, of collusion. The 
witnesses of both fact and prophecy are usually independent 
of each other. They agree in the principal points of their 
testimony ; and they do not disagree anywhere. The omis« 
sions of one, and the additions of another, when all are framed 
together, form a beautiful and perfectly harmonious testimony. 

14. And, notwithstanding the objections and cavils of Infi- 
delity, the truths of the Bible are without doubt far better 
established by this kind of testimony, than they could be by 
any other. 



36 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Had all the inspired witnesses left their testimony as if they 
had copied verbatim from some original document, the same 
Infidelity that now cavils at the apparent disagreements, 
omissions, and additions, would then undoubtedly be just as 
ready to cavil at the appearance of collusion ; and would 
probably make the verbatim of the witnesses a stronger objec- 
tion, than the present verbal difference with substantial 
agreement. 

15. These observations may not appear to be as applicable 
to matters of prophecy, as to matters of history ; for, some 
may say, the prophecy is its own witness ; its fulfillment proves 
its truth. True, indeed ; but is it of no consequence to know 
when, where, and by whom, the prediction was uttered? 
Should not the prophet be identified with his own prophecy, 
so as to establish completely his inspiration ? So as effectu- 
ally to guard against the possible appropriation of a wonderful 
prediction for the countenance and propagation of a subse- 
quent imposture ? But how can the identity of a prophet be 
preserved in inseparable connection with his own predictions, 
if his words are not preserved ? And is not the preservation 
of words, and times, and circumstances, and personalities, a 
proper subject of testimony ? 

16. The predictions which form the subject of this Exposi- 
tion, are of too much consequence, in the great and growing 
controversy between truth and error, to be left for the testi- 
mony of a single witness. And Inspiration was too wise to 
move the first and principal witness to give a testimony that 
should, in effect, exclude all others. Hence, in the nature of 
the case, we should expect to find the first record imperfect 
in itself, but perfect as apart. This is the general nature of 
the prophecies and histories that relate to the important facts 
in the Saviour's life, death, and resurrection. And it is a 
superficial view of things which leads any one to wish it were 
otherwise. The solution of some problems is altogether more 
interesting when wrought out, than when merely stated. Yet 
we always need some primary and self-evident principles to 
begin with. 

17. So, to some extent, it is with some of the great facts, 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 37 

and doctrines, and prophecies which are found in the Bible. 
God was too conversant with man's nature and necessities, 
and too regardful of his well-being, to give to him a revela- 
tion, which had nothing about it to call into exercise, and 
strengthen, and happify those strong, vigorous minds, whose 
health, and enjoyment, and usefulness are inseparably con- 
nected with the investigation and mastery of deep, and broad, 
and elevating subjects. It formed a part of the original 
design, that mind should be arrested, exercised, expanded, 
elevated, purified, and happified by subjects that lead directly 
heavenward, and not be doomed to the everlasting drudgery 
of the research, discovery, and demonstration of compara- 
tively unimportant matters. 

18. And where shall we look for such themes as we have 
judged to be designed for man's welfare ? Shall we look for 
them in connection with the less important, and less interest- 
ing matters which form the primary and self-evident principles 
in theology? Or shall we turn to the great and thrilling 
subjects which have about them a sufficiency of interest to 
attract and rivet the universal attention ? — which, on this 
very account, may be selected as the only appropriate themes 
to be held in connection with the great and sometimes mys- 
terious problems that shall exercise the restless, ambitious, 
and growing mind. 

To such we will turn. And we will not be disappointed in 
our anticipations of some solutions to be wrought out, by 
patience and labor, in such a thrilling subject as the final 
destiny of the world. 

19. Not to be diverted, however, from the former illustra- 
tion, — it may be observed, that the precise form in which we 
£nd the records of the great prophecy in question, may prove 
to be, after all, the very form which is best adapted to secure 
and exercise the world's attention. The design of the Infi- 
nite Wisdom which moved the evangelists thus to record their 
testimony, was doubtlessly as good and considerate, as the 
same Wisdom which, in other things, shows itself by creating 
component parts imperfect, in themselves considered, but 
perfect, when considered as parts. And is it not sufficiently 



38 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

evident, that, with finite things, the highest perfection is 
relative ? 

20. If there are embarrassments and difficulties connected 
with the kind of testimony which we have supposed in the 
case before us, nevertheless, it must be endured, for the 
nature of the case admits of nothing better. And there is 
reason to believe that the disadvantages of such a case are, 
after all, less than would result from any other system. 

If this be so, we should no more complain of the embar- 
rassments that may result, than of the system of creating 
human beings, merely because the foot, or the hand, as apart, 
has not all the attributes and excellences of the body itself, 
which is the union of all the individual parts. 

21. The imperfection of the individual records of our Sa- 
viour's (Jiscourse, is such as the perfection of the design 
rendered expedient and necessary. It was — so to speak — 
as the imperfection of a hand, considered merely of itself, 
and not as a part of something else. It is imperfect, in this 
specific sense, that it has not eyes, ears, and the other mem- 
bers and faculties of the body which it helps to form. 

But, considered as a part, and in respect to its relations, it 
is as perfect as the body to which it belongs. 

22. Let us not, then, view with regret and suspicion the 
(in this sense) imperfect records which have preserved for us 
the wonderful discourse which we are about to review. Let 
not short-sighted, caviling Infidelity rob us of our joy and 
boast in believing that " all Scripture is given by inspiration 
of God ; " and that even the fragmentary records of some 
parts, and the supplementary records of others, are just as 
they should be : " Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good 
unto thee." But we must gather up these fragments, that 
nothing be lost. This the Harmony professes to do ; and, 
still further, professes to restore the various parts according 
to their original order. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 39 



CHAPTER II. 

Principal subject — Transposition of Luke xvn. 31-33. 

V principal difficulty in interpreting the Prophecy — Two classes of Inter 
preters — Perplexity of Orthodox Expositors — Fanciful Expositions — How 
to detect the Transposition — Which record should be corrected — Are Luke 
xvii. and Matt. xxiv. parallel ? — "Which record is most complete — Christ's 
method of Teaching — When the Apostles were inspired — Character of the 
First References to the subjects of the great Prophetic Discourse — Other 
Transpositions — The Question at issue. 

1. The principal difficulty in harmonizing and applying 
the different sketches of our Lord's discourse arises from this 
single fact : In Matthew's record, the admonition to those up- 
on the house-top, directing them not to come down to take 
anything out of the house, appears to belong to the period of 
the Roman invasion. But in Luke xvii. the same admonition 
appears to belong to the period that we usually apply to the 
coming of Christ. Now, when we apply any portion of the 
prophecy to the coming of Christ, the objector is ready to 
meet us with the remark, that in the account given by Luke, 
where he is speaking of the coming of Christ, he uses the identi- 
cal admonition that, in another place, we apply to the period 
of the Roman war. Therefore it is concluded by some that 
the coming of Christ spoken of in the prophecy, was not a lit- 
eral, personal coming, but a figurative, or judicial coming, by 
the instrumentality of the Romans. 

Those who adopt this conclusion are divided into two wide- 
ly different classes : (1.) Those who deny the doctrine of a sec- 
ond personal advent of Christ, as it is held by the orthodox 
churches : and, (2.) Those who believe that the Bible teaches 
such a doctrine in other places, but understand the language 
in this prophecy as being figurative. 

2. Those of the class first mentioned have this in their fa- 
vor : that the allusions to the coming of Christ in this dis- 
course are apparently as plain and literal as in any other part 



40 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

of the Bible. And if these are admitted to be metaphorical, 
it is with much plausibility that those who deny the doctrine 
of the second coming to judgment, insist upon a figurative 
interpretation of the other passages. And, besides, the ortho- 
dox divine has to admit that some of our Saviour's admoni- 
tions, which in Luke xvii. are given in connection with allu- 
sions to the second coming, are, in the other places, given 
undeniably in connection with matters pertaining to the 
Roman war. 

Here the opponents of the orthodox claim to find proof of 
the figurativeness of the coming spoken of, and of its being in 
some way connected with the judgments that are already past. 
And, if in this place, why not elsewhere ? 

3. And this has likewise greatly perplexed our divines, 
when they have undertaken to point out and separate the por- 
tions that belong to the two very different periods. They 
have been in doubt to which of the events to apply the ad- 
monitions to those on the house-top, as found in the xvii. of 
Luke. If they apply that portion to the second advent, as 
the connection would seem to warrant ; then what shall be 
done with the same words, where they as evidently belong to 
the period of the war ? 

If they apply them to the Roman war, then how dispose of 
the passages that we claim to relate to the literal coming ? 
Here the orthodox divines have found themselves greatly em- 
barrassed. And their opponents have not been either slow to 
perceive it, or reluctant to improve it. 

4. Here lies the principal difficulty in giving a consecutive, 
systematic, and satisfactory interpretation of this wonderful 
discourse. 

All the rest is comparatively easy. But while this difficul- 
ty remains, the orthodox expounders will continue to bewilder 
and confound their readers, by the unsatisfying theories of 
double prophecy, of typical events, or of allegorical imagery. 
And so long as this difficulty is allowed to modify or govern 
our expositions of the general subject, so long will the ortho- 
dox contribute to strengthen the hands of his opponent by 
those idle fancies, and groundless assertions, which have be- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 41 

come stereotyped as expositions of such verses as describe the 
coming of the Lord, and the darkening and falling of the 
luminaries of heaven. In the appropriate place in this Expo- 
sition, these stereotyped fancies will be properly attended to. 
And if they are not demonstrated to be fancies, then the au- 
thor of this Treatise will acknowledge his work to be an en- 
tire failure. The reader is premonished, however, that he 
will then meet with some surprising/tfcte / such facts as will 
contribute not a little to settle this whole matter of allegori- 
cal interpretation. 

5. In the verses of the xvii. of Luke, of which we are now 
speaking, the two widely separated events are seemingly 
blended together. Did it never occur to you, reader, that 
those verses are not in their proper place in the discourse ? 

Turn, now, either to the parallel places in the Scriptures, 
or to the Harmony in this Treatise, and see for yourself that 
the verses are transposed from their relative position in the 
discourse. 

You perceive that the verses relating to those admonitions 
in question, in order to be opposed to the parallel verses in 
the other places, have to be taken out of their present con- 
nections in Luke xvii., and placed in advance of their present 
numerical order. And where do they appear, when placed 
oppositely to their parallels in the other records % 

It is easy to see : they appear just where they properly be- 
long : they are found in that portion of the discourse which 
all admit refers to the Roman war. It is obvious, then, that 
these verses, as they stand in Luke xvii., are transposed. Put 
them where the other records place them, and the principal 
hindrance to a consistent interpretation of our Lord's prophet- 
ic discourse is taken away. The importance of noticing this 
matter is sufficiently obvious. No theory, no interpretation, 
no general conclusion, can be deemed complete and reliable, 
if this remarkable circumstance is not duly considered. 

No good can result from overlooking it, or from treating it 
as a matter of little moment. 

6. A question still remains : admitting the transposition of 
the verses in question, how shall the relative order of the ver- 



4:2 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ses in the discourse be determined ? Shall the other records be 
arranged to agree with the xvii. of Luke ? or shall the order 
of this chapter be made to harmonize with the others ? It 
is a plain question, and a question of some importance to the 
general subject. Our remaining observations in this chapter 
will bear upon this point. 

We have already been reminded that, of the several records 
of our Lord's prophetic discourse, no one is full and perfect 
in itself Even the most lengthy and complete account giv- 
en by Matthew omits several things of great importance, 
which are supplied by the others. And, in one case, (to be 
particularly noticed hereafter,) Matthew omitted one verse 
that throws a flood of light upon the obscurest portion of the 
predictions. Indeed, the verse supplied from Luke xxi. 24, 
may be regarded as the most important explanatory verse in 
the whole body of records. 

In the proper place it will be shown to be the connecting 
link between the most distant periods, joining together the 
beginning and the ending of the predicted events. What 
would have been the result, if this important verse had been 
omitted also by Luke ? It is needless to inquire : the ques- 
tion has been sufficiently answered by those who undertake 
to expound Matthew, without noticing, in its relative order, 
the verse supplied by Luke. The importance of this verse, 
and the consequence of overlooking, or misplacing it, will not 
now be exhibited, but reserved for the Exposition. 

7. The principal difficulty in harmonizing and applying the 
different records of the prophetic discourse, it has been re- 
marked, is on account of the transposed verses in Luke xvii. 

It is now appropriate to ascertain what influence those ver- 
ses should have in deciding the relative order of the narration. 
And the first remark is this : Our Lord's discourse, as there 
recorded, was not delivered on the same occasion, nor in an- 
swer to the same inquiries, that we find originated the dis- 
course recorded in the other places. And although there is, to 
some extent, a general parallelism, we are not certain that 
either was designed to be a proper parallel of the other. 

We need not, therefore, feel ourselves obliged to restrain 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 43 

the natural interpretation of the discourse about the temple, 
simply because, in some other discourse, a matter was intro- 
duced in a different relative order. But if we conclude that 
the two discourses were designed to be parallel, then we 
should notice that these transposed verses are found, as the 
record shows, in a very brief and broken narrative of what 
was said on the general subject ; and withmit any other ac- 
count of the same discourse, to fill up and elucidate that single, 
and evidently imperfect record — (imperfect, as explained in 
a previous chapter.) 

What other things our Saviour said on that occasion, — 
things (as in the other case) elucidating the nature and order 
of events, we are as ignorant as we must have remained in 
respect to many things in the temple discourse, if the subse- 
quent records had not gathered up and preserved them. 

8. Can it be wise, then, that the order of the narration of 
that single and imperfect sketch should be made of so much 
greater importance than the fuller narration of the three-fold 
and perfected record ? Shall we change the whole order and 
design of the natural exposition of the elucidated and com- 
pleted record, simply because the same order of relation is 
not observed in another record ? Shall we correct the perfect 
by the imperfect 1 Shall the three-fold testimony be set aside 
for the single testimony % Shall what we know to be as com- 
plete as Inspiration designed it, be distorted in its natural or- 
der by what we have reason to believe is not as complete as 
it was designed % 

For the great discourse which is found in the three evan- 
gelists, was delivered subsequently to the othea: and, if it is on 
the same subject, it must have been designed as an improve- 
ment upon the other, as its very appearance proves. 

9. This leads to another remark : Our Saviour was in the 
custom of presenting subjects to the minds of his disciples, 
that they might become themes of inquiry and meditation. 
He was also accustomed to give them information on various 
subjects, not all at once, in its fullness, but gradually, and 
from time to time, as he judged them able to receive it, until 
they had obtained a full understanding of the matter. 



4A HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

We should constantly remember that the disciples were not 
fully inspired from the first ; but were slow of apprehension, 
liable to mistake, and even fell into errors and misconceptions 
about the very matters on which Christ had been speaking. 

10. This state of things continued, with some improvement, 
until they were finally and fully inspired to act in the Saviour's 
place. When Christ saw fit to introduce an important sub- 
ject, he sometimes designedly left his communications unfin- 
ished, that he might resume and complete them at a more 
convenient or appropriate time. 

Thus in regard to his departure from them, his crucifixion, 
the gift of the Spirit, &c. 

Now, would it not have been exceedingly unwise for the 
disciples to use those first, unfinished instructions as the crite- 
rion by which to regulate the order, and decide the nature, of 
the more full and finished communications ? 

The case in hand is quite similar : Our Lord, designing to 
be more full and explicit at another time, introduced the sub- 
ject of Jewish calamities, and of his own judgment coming; 
but, at first, gave only such an amount of information as an- 
swered the purpose of awakening an interest, and preparing 
the way for complete and final instruction. 

11. And it is, as the record itself shows, a matter of fact, 
that they did not, from that first discourse, understand either 
the precise nature, or the relative order, or the time, of the 
great events under our present notice. Hence the meaning of 
their inquiries on the subject, at a time subsequent to the 
first discourse ; and hence, also, the propriety of delivering 
the lengthy and particularizing discourse which is the subject 
of this Treatise. 

Now, to make the relative order of the last and finished 
discourse subject to the order of the sketch of the first dis- 
course, is to act without sufficient reason. But this we do, if 
we permit the order of the introductory discourse to overrule 
the order of the final one. 

We need not be trammeled, then, in our exposition of the 
xxiv. of Matthew, by any discrepancy of parallelism in the xviL 
of Luke. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 45 

12. It may be observed, still further, that there are other 
transpositions in the relative order of the two discourses. For 
example, the allusion to the carcass and eagles. Take anoth- 
er instance in the three sketches of the same discourse : the 
10th verse in Mark's account must be put between the 13th 
and 14th verses, in order to harmonize with the record of 
Matthew. And the 9th verse in Matthew has to be divided, 
and a part transferred to another place in the relative order, 
that it may be harmonized with the two records of Mark and 
Luke. Transpositions in the relative order of sentences, then, 
are not unusual. So that, in maintaining the present position, 
there is not an effort to prove a new and unheard-of thing. 
The labor is simply to show an additional instance of what is 
admitted to have more than once occurred in the same gen- 
eral connection ; and to settle the matter of precedency be- 
tween an unfinished and a finished lesson of instruction, as to 
which of the two should be used to amend the other. 



CHAPTER III. 

Principal subject — The Interrogations. 

State of the case — How Christ began his discourse — How many things were 
comprised in the Questions proposed — What is indicated by the different 
forms in which the Questions are recorded — Impressions of the Disciples — 
Why three events are blended in their Inquiries — How their impressions 
originated — What probably occasioned the Difference in the Records — 
Importance of considering this — Cause of Indefiniteness of many Exposi- 
tions — The true method of Reasoning — Illustrations. 

1. Some importance should undoubtedly be attached to the 
interrogations which our Lord had in view when he delivered 
the discourse under review. The previous unfinished, and — 
in this sense — imperfect, instructions relative to the destiny 
of the Jews, and of the world, had resulted as was foreseen, 
and perhaps intended ; or, at least, wisely permitted. The 



46 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

great subjects on which the Lord intended to speak more par- 
ticularly, at a more appropriate time, had, it appears, already- 
been matters of thought, and, probably, of conversation, 
among the disciples. They were ready now to press their 
inquiries, that they might the more clearly understand the 
matters on which they had thought, but which still seemed 
obscure and confused. Of the coming of the Son of man, of 
the destruction of Jerusalem, and' the end of the world, they 
had already heard something ; but in respect to the precise 
nature, and relative order of some of the events, they were 
yet in the dark. 

2. The appropriate time had now come for Christ to give 
the complete lesson, which from the first he undoubtedly 
intended to teach. As they called his attention to the huge 
stones in the wall, and the magnificent appearance of the 
temple, he opened his wonderful prophetic discourse by the 
solemn declaration, that the time would come when there 
should not remain there one stone upon another. This appears 
to have been the substance of all that was said in respect to 
the matter, until they arrived at the summit of mount Olivet, 
and Christ had taken his seat over against the temple, where 
the whole city was distinctly exposed to his view. 

3. Then Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him 
privately, and desired him to inform them when the things 
which he had predicted should take place. Here we should 
remember that we have no proof whatever, that anything 
had been said, at that time, about his coming, or of the end 
of the world. Yet the evidence is clear, that their inquiries 
had respect to three very different events : " Tell us when 
shall these things be?" That is, undoubtedly, the things 
relating to the destruction of the temple. " And what shall 
be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ? " 
These are the questions, as recorded by Matthew. The other 
two evangelists do not retain the triple form of the question, 
but appear to have recorded it as if all the events would 
transpire at the same time. " Tell us when shall these things 
be ? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be 
fulfilled." There is here an appearance, which may be 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 47 

regarded as an evidence, that the three events were supposed 
by the disciples to belong to the same period, and that the 
signs of one would also be the signs of the others. It is cer- 
tain, however, that the questions were propounded in the 
three-fold manner, and referring respectively to the three 
great events. To suppose otherwise, would be an impeach- 
ment of Matthew's testimony, charging upon him the fact of 
reporting, as said, something that was not said. This is a very 
different thing from simply omitting something, in order that 
another might strengthen the first record by confirmatory 
additions. 

4. And it is possible, indeed, probable, that all the disciples 
were impressed, that the ruin of the temple., and the second 
coming would be at the end of the world. And although 
Matthew has preserved the triplicate form of the interrogato- 
ries, it is no evidence that he supposed the three events would 
be widely separated. From the fact, that the whole subject 
was evidently suggested, at this time, by the observations 
about the destruction of the temple, and from the evident 
mingling of the three great events in their inquiries, it is 
probably safe to conclude, that the disciples were impressed 
that the three great events would transpire in connection, or 
at periods not remote from each other. Whether the disciples 
had any definite conviction in relation to the length of time 
which should elapse previous to the ruin of the temple, and 
the other supposed synchronous events, is not certain. But 
there are reasons for concluding that they supposed all would 
transpire during the lifetime of some who were then living. 
The different subjects had been blended in their inquiries and 
meditations,- and, in some way, the whole matter seemed to 
them connected with the coming of the kingdom of God. 
Now, it is certain that Christ represented the kingdom of 
heaven as being " at hand," as coming " nigh" unto them, as 
" within," (or, more properly, among,) them, and as having 
indeed " come" unto them, just as certainly as that he cast 
out devils by the finger of God. He had also informed them, 
ithat as they fled from city to city from their persecutors, they 



4:8 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

should " not have gone over the cities of Israel until the Son 
of man be come." If any doubt remained in their minds, in 
relation to the nearness of this great event, it was probably 
removed by that very distinct affirmation of Christ, that there 
were some then standiug with him which should not die, until 
they had seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom. 

5. This passage is so remarkable, and probably had so 
much influence in forming the impression that all these great 
events were near ; — and it being still a great difficulty in the 
way of a clear understanding of the general subject; — it 
will be expedient to bring it distinctly before the mind, in 
order that we may perceive the effect it most probably had 
upon the disciples, who were from other sources also impressed 
that the end of all things was near. We will, after the plan 
of the Harmony, take the record of Matthew, and add what 
was supplied by the other evangelists, that all that is upon 
record may be presented at once to the mind. The places 
referred to are Matt. xvi. 27, 28, Mark viii. 38, and ix. 1, Luke 
ix. 26, 27. [ " Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashwmed of me, 
and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation / 
of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh 
[in his own glory,'] (and) in the glory of his Father, with the 
holy angels.'] For the Son of man shall come in the glory of 
his Father, with his angels ; and then shall he reward every 
man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There 
be some [of them that stand here] which shall not taste of 
death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. 
[Till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power,] 
[Till they see the kingdom of God."] 

6. Let it be remembered that it is not intended, just now, 
to explain this passage, and the others just referred to ; but 
simply to show what had been the subjects of thought and 
meditation among the disciples, and with what impressions 
they probably approached the Saviour, at the time they pro- 
posed the questions which are now under consideration 
After such observations from Christ, and after the conversa 
tions and reflections natural to inquisitive minds, how natural, 
when one of the supposed synchronous events was named, to 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 49 

inquire, "Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what shall 
be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world ? " 

It must be evident, considering the circumstances of the 
case, that although three very different events were contem- 
plated in the inquiries, yet these events were considered as 
being likely to transpire at, or about the same time. And 
this conclusion appears to be still more probable, when it is 
considered, that ahaough the inquiries did actually have 
respect to three difT rent events, and by one of the historians 
they were so recorded ; yet the other historians, designedly 
recording the inquiries in the spirit in which they were made, 
and having more particular reference to the impression on 
the minds of the disciples, which prompted them to make the 
inquiries in that form ; — we say — this remarkable circum- 
stance must make it appear evident that the disciples were 
impressed that all would transpire at about the same time. 

7. And here we have another of those beautiful instances 
in which one part of the Scripture, without any apparent 
design, elucidates and sustains the other. By this two-fold 
method of preserving these important questions, we have not 
only the precise form in which they were propounded, but 
the understanding and spirit by which they were suggested. 
We have not only the formal interrogatories to which Christ 
gave his attention, but the understanding and impression of 
the inquirers, which he undertook to correct, or to confirm. 
To these unexpected, and, to the careful reader, constantly 
occuring coincidences, the pious mind delights to turn. 
They are the " things new," and yet old, which Inspiration 
has hidden away down in the depths of divine wisdom, like 
pearls in deep waters, that the inquiring mind may be both 
excited and rewarded in its deep searchings after hidden wis- 
dom. They not only prove that the Scriptures were designed 
to be studied, but that they will endure study, and strengthen 
the belief that begins its examination with the things upon 
the surface. 

8. Can any one fail to perceive the importance of having 
distinctly in view this two-fold method of preserving the 
inquiries under notice % Without a proper consideration of 

4 



50 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

this, can we distinctly show to what, and for what, onr Sa- 
viour spoke, at the time we are now considering ? Has there 
not been too much haste in approachiDg this tremendous 
subject? Has there not been too much leaping at conclu- 
sions, as the expression is ? Has there not been an evident 
overlooking, or lightly considering, the circumstances which 
prompted the inquiries to which the Saviour replied ? And 
has there not been, of consequence,- a proportional indefinite- 
ness in showing what object Christ had in view in giving this 
important discourse ? And may not this account for the un- 
deniable confusion and uncertainty which, to an unpleasant 
degree, characterize the many expositions of this portion of 
the divine oracles? 

9. So far as common philosophy is concerned, we live in 
the Baconian age : we reason by induction. We first inquire, 
What are the facts f And by this we mean, all the facts 
accessible; all that bear wpon the case } however remotely. He 
who, by any means, adds a new fact to the knowledge of the 
day, is regarded as having conferred a favor upon the race. 
And this is especially true in all these important studies which 
affect human destiny, and are still somewhat obscured, and 
apparently conflicting. In erecting our theories upon ascer- 
tained facts, — which is the true method of reasoning, — we 
are thankful for what may seem at first to be little facts ; facts 
overlooked by the ordinary explorer. We sometimes find 
that one of these little truths — to use such a word — is in 
fact a great truth ; a truth that gives an entirely different 
aspect to important matters. It was, to the common thinker, 
an apparently trifling matter that the electric fluid was once 
drawn from the clouds by a kite string ; but it has changed 
the destiny of the world. So, in the philosophy of theology _, 
no ascertainable fact should be either overlooked, or treated 
as if it were of little or no importance. And this must be 
especially essential in those momentous biblical subjects 
which have undeniably perplexed so many of our divines. 
Is it not palpable that they have too frequently reasoned from 
hypothesis, instead of facts? And is it not true that the 
inductive method of reasoning has hardly yet found its way 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 51 

to conspicuousness in our biblical expositions ? And is it not 
particularly true in the multitudinous, antagonistical, and 
unsatisfactory methods of expounding the portion of Scrip- 
ture which is now under notice ? In what treatise shall we 
find even the principal, and easily ascertained facts, that have 
a bearing upon this subject? Instead of inferring facts from 
theories, let us reverse the order, and derive theories from facts. 

10. These extended remarks cannot be deemed out of place 
by that class of minds to which these pages are addressed. 
That kind of intellectuality is not in haste to plunge into the 
obscure depths of uncertainty. It pauses to examine every 
step of logical progress ; and would rather go two steps back- 
ward, to be doubly sure, than one forward, but half assured 
of its certainty. That kind of mentality likes to linger in 
the examination of foundation and explanatory truths, and 
gather within its eager grasp all the leading lines of certainty 
and probability that seem to converge to the distant, unseen 
point, toward which the ruling desire is perpetually tending. 
A little delay at the outset, to see what materials for further 
research we have gathered, and to take our bearings for 
another advance, is not deemed to be time thrown away ; but 
regarded, rather, as a new observation of the stars, that guide 
us, and a re-examination of the calculations that assure us, 
that we may proceed the more pleasantly, and the more safely. 

We have ventured too long upon these voyages of discovery 
without a chart to guide us. Or, if we have charts innumera- 
ble, they were at first so imperfectly constructed, and have 
been since so carelessly copied, that he who ventures to guide 
his explorations according to their indefinite and self-contra- 
dictory outlines, will be likely to veer away into the regions 
of doubt and darkness, or to dash headlong upon the reefs of 
skepticism and infidelity. 

If, in our progress, we find ourselves at a point beyond 
which we have no further light or pilotage, we shall cast our 
anchor and wait for day. Or, if we must proceed, we will 
feel our way along as carefully as possible, constantly sound- 
ing, as we advance, and leave our discoveries as a chart for 
the benefit of subsequent adventurers. 



52 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Principal subject — Considerations preliminary to the Ex- 
position. 

"When the Apostles were fully Inspired — Previous liability to mistakes — 
Examples — Principal Design of Christ's final Discourses — A principal Er- 
ror of the Disciples — Jewish understanding of the Prophecies — Examples — 
Facts to be considered — Leading Themes of the first Gospel Preachers — 
The Kingdom — The Judgment — The End of the world — Impression of 
the two sons of Zebedee — "When Messiah's Kingdom was expected — Origin 
of that Expectation — Christ's Object in giving his prophetic Discourse — 
State of the case summarily exhibited — Why the Errors of the Disciples 
were not corrected before — Divine method of Instruction. 

1. It is of great importance to recollect that the apostles 
were not fully inspired at the time when the Lord delivered 
his prophetic discourse. Their plenary inspiration appears to 
have been deferred until the great spiritual baptism at Pen- 
tecost, after the Lord's ascension. Until then, they seem to 
have been liable to mistake, like other men ; and were not 
judged to be fully qualified to assume the responsibility of 
governing and teaching the church. It was not without a 
reason that the Lord directed them to tarry at Jerusalem un- 
til they were endowed with power from on high. There were 
some things which they desired to know, but were not empow- 
ered to know, until that plenary baptism of the Holy Ghost. 
Our Lord was fully employed in unfolding to them the mys- 
tery of divine things, as they were able to bear it. During 
his continuance with them, after his resurrection, he continued 
to discourse with them of things pertaining to his kingdom. 
But even at the end of that forty days' especial instruction, 
they had not learned at what time the kingdom should be re- 
stored again to Israel. Of the fact that it would be restored, 
they seem to have been duly informed ; but of the " times or 
seasons which the Father hath put in his own power," they 
were yet without knowledge. Acts i. 6, 7. 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 53 

2. It will not be hazardous, then, to suppose that the apos- 
tles were uninformed witn respect to some things, and even 
mistaken about others, at the time they came to Christ with 
their inquiries respecting the signs and time of his coming. 
The days of their pupilage were not yet accomplished. They 
were still sitting as disciples at the feet of their divine Mas- 
ter, learning the things which it behooved them to know, as 
the future guides and governors of the church. And, what 
was just as necessary, they were at the same time unlearning 
many things which it behooved them to forget. They still 
had their mistaken impressions and views, even with respect to 
some matters on which our Lord had already discoursed. This 
may seem surprising to us, but it is undeniable. The coming 
of Elijah was as little understood, before it was explained, as 
the coming of Christ himself. The relation of infants to the 
heavenly kingdom was so little comprehended, that the disci- 
ples rebuked those who brought them to the Saviour. And 
they were still so mistaken in their impresssions of the nature 
of Messiah's kingdom, as to dispute about who should be 
greatest. They did not yet know the nature and necessity of 
the faith that was instrumental in curing the demoniac. Even 
Peter himself, one of the chief apostles, was yet uninformed 
that his Master must die. And, after all that he had said 
about his resurrection, Christ's appearing to them, after he was 
risen, was a matter of astonishment and terror. In fine, the 
notions of the disciples were erroneous at this time, respecting 
many things which to us appear almost self-evident. Even af- 
ter Christ had discoursed freely on various topics pertaining 
to his coming and kingdom, there was much that they could 
not fully comprehend. 

3. It is not, therefore, assuming anything in itself improb- 
able, to conclude, that the disciples may have misunderstood 
the Lord's previous observations on the subjects about which 
they now inquired. And, after a little, it will perhaps be suf- 
ficiently evident to the reader that they must have misunder- 
stood him in some things ; and that a principal design of 
Christ's final discourse was, to complete his lessons of instruc- 
tion, so far as the disciples had failed fully to apprehend his 



54 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

meaning ; thus communicating truth as they were able to re- 
ceive it ; and to correct such erroneous views as the y might still 
entertain. We have seen how this was done in some things. 
But our principal object now is, to show how it was done in the 
matter of which we are treating. 

4. The principal error under which they seem to have been 
laboring, was, in relation to the nature of Messiah's kingdom. 
Their Jewish conceptions and prejudices still remained, and 
evidently modified all their views of the work of Christ, and 
of his prophetic discourses. They still " trusted" it should be 
he " that should redeem Israel." And it must not be forgot- 
ten, that the redemption for which they looked to Christ, was 
not the redemption of transgressors, by means of the death of 
the Redeemer ; but the literal, political redemption of Israel, 
as a people, from their political bondage. The Old Testament 
Scriptures are filled with glorious predictions of Messiah and 
his happy reign over Israel. And these prophetic descrip- 
tions of the conquest of the Gentiles, and of the elevation and 
prosperity of the seed of Jacob, were familiar to the Jewish 
mind, and most gratifying to the Jewish heart. This famil- 
iarity, and this gratification, with the prophetic delineations 
of Messiah and his kingdom, understood as they were by the 
Jews, must be considered as the key to all their otherwise in- 
explicable conduct, in their treatment of Messiah. 

5. Their prayers, praises, hopes and enjoyments, all had in- 
timate association with their understanding of the Messianic 
prophecies. When Gabriel appeared unto Mary, to announce 
to her the great favor she had found with God, he, at the very 
first, appealed to her Jewish heart : " Behold, thou shalt con- 
ceive and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest. 
And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his fath- 
er David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever." 
When Mary was led to magnify the Lord, in view of herself 
being the mother of Christ, she felt and spoke as a Jew : 
" He has holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his 
mercy ; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his 
seed, forever." We perceive the same thing in the exultation 



HAKMONY A2s T D EXPOSITION. 55 

and prophecy of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, in 
view of his being the harbinger to go before the face of the 
Lord. " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel ; for he hath vis- 
ited and redeemed his people ; and hath raised up a horn of 
salvation for us, in the house of David ; as he spake by the 
mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world 
began ; that we should be saved from our enemies, and from 
the hand of all that hate us : to perform the mercy promised 
to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant : the oatli 
which he sware to our fat/wr Abraham, that he would grant 
unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our ene- 
mies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteous- 
ness before him, all the days of our life." This was the nature 
of the redemption, and this the kind of kingdom, which the 
Jews expected to receive by the Messiah. 

6. The song of the angels was of the same character, and 
could not fail to deepen the impression in their mind. " Un- 
to you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which 
is Christ the Lord." The terms Saviour, Christ, and Lord, 
had a significancy with Jewish minds probably much more 
definite and literal than they have with us. It is probable 
that the venerable Simeon, as he held the infant Jesus in his 
arms, had also the literal conception which was so character- 
istic of that people. It was revealed unto him by the Holy 
Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the 
Lord's Christ As the aged saint took the infant Redeemer 
in his arms, he blessed God, and said, " Lord, now lettest thou 
thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word ; for mine 
eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before 
the face of all people ; a light to lighten the gentiles, and the 
glory of thy people Israel" And as the venerable prophetess 
Anna came into the temple at that instant, she likewise " gave 
thanks unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked 
for redemption in Jerusalem" 

7. When the magi came from the east to Jerusalem, in 
search of the newly born Saviour, their inquiry was, " Where 
is he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star 
in the east, and are come to worship him." It is not wonder- 



56 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ful that when " Herod the king had heard these things he was 
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." He was afraid of los- 
ing his throne ; and all Jerusalem was in commotion with the 
expectation of the result of rival kings. " And when he had 
gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people togeth- 
er, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And 
they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea : for thus it is 
written by the prophet : And thou, Bethlehem, in the land 
of Judah, art not least among the princes of Judah ; for out 
of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Is- 
rael." It is not surprising, then, when we consider the com- 
mon impression of the Jews, that Herod should seek the young 
child to destroy him ; for the redemption and rule that were 
expected of Christ, would have unthroned the tyrant, and 
driven from the land his Koman supporters. But to the peo- 
ple generally it would have been deliverance from a yoke of 
iron. Therefore they greatly rejoiced. 

8. These Israelitish views of temporal dominion manifested 
themselves in a variety of ways through the whole period of 
the Saviour's life. Friends and enemies alike exhibited the 
general conviction. Ambition sought to secure the right and 
left hand honors of his throne. Bewildered Admiration un- 
dertook by force to make him a king, whether he would or 
not, when he manifested his divine power. Enmity, with fo- 
rensic skill, framed his accusation of treason, in disappoint- 
ment of the common anticipations relative to his kingly char- 
acter. His death sentence, and his published accusation on 
the cross, were but so many proofs of the common disappoint- 
ment. Pious grief wept over the sepulchre, murmuring 
through the falling tears, " We trusted it had been he who 
should have redeemed Israel." The very last inquiry made 
by the disciples, before the risen Saviour ascended, showed 
that even then they had not entirely lost the influence of 
natural and deep-founded convictions. " Lord, wilt thou at 
this time restore again the kingdom to Israel ?" They needed, 
besides the Saviour's personal instructions, the promised illu- 
mination of the Holy Ghost. 

9. Now, these are the facts that must be considered, in or 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 57 

der to make appropriate inductions, and establish a theory of 
exposition that shall be worthy of our confidence. But these 
are not the only facts : there yet remain others, which, if pos- 
sible, are still more important. Christ himself was accustomed 
to speak of his kingdom in a way which certainly appears to 
have been calculated to deepen the common impression, and 
rendered it the more necessary, at the appropriate time, to 
explain himself more fully, and do what could appropriately 
be done to give the disciples a true exposition of his doctrine. 
10. When the harbinger of Christ lifted up his voice to the 
myriads who attended his ministry, his first proclamation was, 
" Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And 
of Christ himself it is written, " From that time Jesus began 
to preach, and to say, Repent ; for the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand." So, when Christ sent forth his apostles to preach, 
he gave them their instruction in these words : " And as ye 
go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." 
Now, it would be very unreasonable to suppose that John, 
and Christ, and the apostles merely oegan their ministry by 
making this proclamation ; and that they did not continue to 
teach the same thing. The only rational conclusion is, that 
this proclamation formed the principal theme of their minis- 
try ; and that they begun, and continued, with the same lead- 
ing subject. Consistently with this view, we find that the 
occasional records of the subject matter of that beginning of 
gospel preaching, had intimate relation to this leading theme. 
Of Christ we read, "And Jesus went about all Galilee, 
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the 
kingdom." At another time we read, "And Jesus went 
about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, 
and preaching the gospel of the kingdom" The very frequent 
reference to the kingdom, under its various distinguishing 
•itles, shows that it was a common, if not the principal theme 
of public discourse, and private conversation. The mention 
of the kingdom, in connection with the case of John the 
Baptist; with the case of those who rejected the first apos- 
tolic message, and in connection with very many of our Sa- 
viour's parables; — these, and other instances that might be 



58 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

named, show the frequency and familiarity of treating the 
great leading theme of the new dispensation. 

11. Connected with this theme was another, which appears 
to have been almost as prominent in our Saviour's public and 
private teaching ; this was the Judgment, when appropriate 
rewards and punishments should be administered to all clas- 
ses of people. John the Baptist dwelt largely on the Judg- 
ment, and continually warned the people. And how fre- 
quently, and how terribly, Christ proclaimed the Judgment, 
it is not necessary particularly to specify. The disciples be- 
came familiar with the idea, and had their minds frequently 
and deeply impressed with the terrible calamities that should 
befall the impenitent, and the blessings and honors reserved 
for the faithful. The cities in which the mighty works of 
Christ had been wrought, were solemnly admonished that in 
"the day of judgment" it would be "more tolerable for 
Sodom than for them." " The men of Nineveh shall rise in 
judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it ;" " The 
queen of the South shall rise up in the day of judgment with 
this generation, and shall condemn it" — are but specimens 
of the warnings which Christ gave to the people who heard 
him. 

12. The disciples were taught also to look for the final clo- 
sing up of these retributions, and the separation of the differ- 
ent characters, at the " end of the world ;" or, as some prefer 
to render it, at the end of that age or dispensation. The par- 
able of the Tares may be selected as a specimen of the in- 
struction which the disciples were accustomed to receive. 
The explanation of the parable was thus : " He that soweth 
the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world. 
The good seed are the children of the kingdom ; but the tares 
are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed 
them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world ; and 
the reapers are the angels. As, therefore, the tares are gath- 
ered, and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in the end of this 
world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they 
shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and 
them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 59 

fire ; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then 
shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of their Fath- 
er" The parable of the Fishes is of the same import. And 
both of these, and, indeed, most of the other parables, are in- 
troduced as illustrations of things pertaining to the kingdom 
of heaven. " The kingdom of heaven is like unto," is the 
usual introduction. 

13. There was also another view of the general subj ect, which 
must have left a deep impression upon the minds of the dis- 
ciples. When our Saviour, with reference to the rich, young 
ruler, observed, " That a rich man shall hardly enter into the 
kingdom of heaven," Peter desired to know what should be # 
given unto them who had forsaken all to follow him. " And 
Jesus said unto them, Yerily I say unto you, that ye which 
have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man 
shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve 
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." After hearing 
such a declaration as this, it is easy to understand what was 
the probable impression upon the mind of the ambitious 
mother of the two sons of Zebedee. These two relatives of 
Christ, James and John, having, perhaps, some little more 
familiarity with their Master than the others, and hoping 
thereby to secure the highest honors of that kingdom which 
was so generally expected, through the agency of their moth- 
er, presented their request, that one might sit on the right 
hand and the other on the left, " in the kingdom." It is not 
difficult to perceive what kind of kingdom even these leading 
apostles were still anticipating. In the language of another, 

" They were still looking for a temporal kingdom. They ex- 
pected that he would reign on the earth, with great pomp and 
glory. They expected that he would conquer as a prince and 
a warrior. The disciples here had no reference to the king- 
dom of heaven, but only to the kingdom which they supposed 
he was about to set up on the earth." {Barnes.) 

14. And there is still another consideration of importance, 
in making up our conclusion with respect to the impressions 
of the disciples, at the time of the discourse about the tem- 
ple. It is so probable as to amount almost to certainty, that 



60 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

they were expecting the fulfillment of all these things during 
their own natural life-time, or, at longest, within a few years. 
They did not forget that their Master had said to them, that, 
in fleeing from place to place before their persecutors, " Ye 
shall not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of 
man be come." And on another occasion, when speaking of 
the loss or salvation of the soul, the Master had said, " For 
the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with 
his angels ; and then shall he reward every man according to 
his work. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing 
here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of 
man coming in his kingdom." Mark says, " Till they have 
seen the kingdom of God come with power." Luke says, 
" Till they see the kingdom of God." 

15. ISTow, all these things are to be taken into considera- 
tion, in making up our minds concerning the views entertained 
by the disciples, at the time of propounding their questions 
respecting the times and the signs of the fulfillment. Our 
Saviour undoubtedly had some definite plan to guide him, and 
some distinct object in view, when he uttered his celebrated 
discourse about the seasons and the signs. He desired either 
to confirm, to remove, or to modify, the convictions of his 
disciples respecting these things. On a preceding page this 
matter has been definitely stated ; and it now remains only 
to gather up the scattered facts that we have discovered, and 
present them in order before the mind, that we may ascertain, 
as far as practicable, with what convictions the disciples ap- 
proached the great subject under discussion, and what Christ 
had before him to prompt and guide his discourse. 

16. Are we not safe in concluding that the impression of 
the disciples was, 

(1.) That Christ was to come once more, — not as he had 
come, in shame and obscurity, — but in great glory, and with 
the holy angels ? 

(2.) That his second advent would be a coming to execute 
terrible judgments upon the wicked, particularly upon the 
cities that would not receive him ? And that this judgment 
would be the time of universal separation between the evil 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



61 



and the good, (Matt, xiii.) that the one might be punished, 
and the other rewarded ? 

(3.) That this would be done openly and generally, when 
he should come in kingly majesty to establish his kingdom 
as a temporal prince ? 

(4.) That all this should take place while some of them 
should yet be living upon the earth ? (Mark ix. 1.) 

(5.) That this would be, in some senses, the end of the 
world ? (Matt, xiii.) 

17. Knowing, as our Saviour did, all that passed in the 
minds of men, and perceiving distinctly the error of his dis- 
ciples, we cannot err in supposing that he designed in this 
discourse to correct their erroneous impressions, and, as far as 
practicable, establish them in the truth. It was his desire, 
undoubtedly, to do this ; and we conclude, therefore, that he 
now undertook to do it. To suppose otherwise, would be sup- 
posing that he acted without such motives as we always like 
to ascribe to the adorable Saviour. It would be supposing 
that he misimproved a most favorable, and, perhaps, final 
opportunity of doing so important a work. Sometimes he in- 
structed and admonished them without being requested to do 
so. Now, in addition to all the self-prompting and unchange- 
able desires to proclaim the truth, he was under the influence 
of a request from his beloved apostles, whom he had chosen 
to enlighten the world, and to regulate his church. Should 
he turn a deaf ear to their earnest request, when, upon the 
very face of it, there appeared an error that could not be 
cherished without injury? He had himself — shall we not 
say? — designedly suggested the subject, by his astounding 
declaration respecting the overthrow of the temple. Shall he 
now refuse to satisfy the very inquiries which he had awa- 
kened, and on a subject which he had purposely introduced 
for their information ? No, indeed : he perceives the fatal 
mistakes of the world's appointed instructors ; and he now 
undertakes, at great length, and with unusual pains, to show 
them the truth as it appeared to his own omniscience. 

18. But here we may be met by what with some will be 
fiimple inquiry, and what with others will be caviling : Why 



62 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

did not the unerring wisdom of the divine Saviour unfold, 
with unmistakable distinctness, these things at the very first ? 
Why suffer mistakes to grow out of his own words? Or, 
originating from any source, why suffer a mistake to remain 
in the minds of his disciples for any length of time ? Why 
not, — as he doubtless had the power, and could not lack for 
the disposition — why not at once — without any delay — tell 
them so they must understand, and thereby qualify them to 
instruct the world ? Undoubtedly this would have been sug- 
gested by all who make such inquiries, if they had been per- 
mitted to advise the Son of God. But to those who repose in 
the belief, that Infinite Wisdom always does what is best, a 
sufficient answer will be, " Even so, Father ; for so it seemed 
good in thy sight." Whether we can understand the reason 
or not, still it is undeniably true, that Infinite Wisdom did 
not see proper to adopt the method of instruction which 
these inquiries have in contemplation. The process of quali- 
fying the apostles for their destined offices in the church, was 
a lingering process ; nor was it completed until they were 
plenarily inspired by the baptism at Pentecost. 

19. This gradualism in the method of instruction was not 
confined, however, to the particular subjects under contem- 
plation. It appears to have extended to all subjects. We 
meet with evidences of it throughout the Saviour's ministry. 
The rule by which he was guided is sufficiently indicated by 
that beautiful remark of his, — "I have yet many things to 
say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." And this was 
nearly at the close of his instructions. We may, or we may 
not, understand all the reasons which guided unerring Wis- 
dom in this matter ; but the fact in question is too plain for 
contradiction. And, whether we comprehend the reasons or 
not, we will submit our own judgments to the Wisdom that 
cannot err, and conclude that it must have been best. 

20. But we now approach the time when not only the pow- 
er, but the disposition to instruct, could be exercised to their 
full extent with more appropriateness, perhaps, than at any 
previous period. If there was ever a time when it was proper 
for Divine Wisdom to display itself, by fully unfolding to 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION, 63 

finite minds the world-affecting scenes of future ages, it was 
the time when the world's appointed religious teachers came 
to their Master, with solemn and pointed inquiries about the 
momentous matters which it behooved them to understand ; — 
and which inquiries of themselves afforded proof, not only 
of their desire to be taught, but of their need of teaching. 
May we not conclude, with safety, that the peculiar circum- 
stances of the case would induce the Saviour to give his in- 
structions with greater fullness and precision than any pre- 
vious period had rendered expedient ? 



CHAPTER V. 

Principal subject — Theory of Exposition. 

Benefits of a Theory — Illustrations — Great names — Preparatory advise- 
ments — Character of the Theory of Exegesis — How to obtain a correct 
Theory — The case stated — What the Lord had in view — Illustrative 
Parable — Radical Mistake — How occasioned — Principal elements of the 
true Theory — Difficulties — What is attempted — General bearing of the 
Exposition — Origin of Universalism — Universalist Exegesis and Ortho- 
dox compared — Test of Truth and Error. 

1. To accomplish any great, and, especially, any difficult 
enterprise, it is necessary to have a plan. And we need not 
linger to show the necessity of having a good and correct 
one : it is nearly self-evident. An erroneous plan or theory 
cannot guide us correctly ; a true theory may not ; but it will 
be much more likely to lead us to ultimate truth, than either 
no theory, or an incorrect one. We must have our plan, 
then ; and the time has come to obtain it. Whence shall it 
be derived? From previous theories, shattered into frag- 
ments, like an exploded world, and rudely conglomerated into 
a new one? Certainly not: let it be original, as far as the 
nature of the case will admit. Let us take warning from the 
theoretic philosophy of ancient ages, and be satisfied with no 



64. HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

theory that is not directly educed from as many facts as we 
are permitted to examine. The usual theories of interpreting 
the Lord's great prophecy, like the ancient fanciful theories 
of the universe, are cumbersome, self-contradictory, and un- 
satisfactory. 

" But they have the sanction of great names." This is indeed 
true, and a source of deep regret. And so had the ancient 
theories of the universe : as great names sustained them as 
can be found on the historic page. " Pythagoras, and Thales, 
and Ptolemy were neither idiots nor children; they were 
master spirits of a splendid age. But, since the days of Co- 
pernicus and Newton, who thinks of receiving the once 
orthodox and popular theories and conclusions of former 
ages, simply because they had the sanction of great names ? 
" Great men are not always wise." They may be great in 
some things, and far from great in other things. Great men 
are at variance in respect to a thousand things ; and by the 
greatness of names we can never ascertain a doubtful truth. 
Truth is greater than great men ; and sometimes God reveals 
to "babes" what he hides from the "wise and prudent." 
(Matt. xi. 25.) "Let God be true, and every man a liar." 
Before these pages are finished, the reader will frequently 
have the opportunity of seeing not only some of the reason- 
ings of great men, but also some of their assertions, tested by 
matters of fact. These preparatory advisements are not 
without their use even now, as we proceed to develop our 
theory of exegesis. It will be independent, and in some 
respects, perhaps, a little startling. And as far as it is possi- 
ble for any one who has been almost surfeited with reading 
on a particular subject, to shake off', flee from, and forget, the 
most he has read, or listened to, so far will it be done now ; 
and, so far as it is practicable, the world shall have an original 
Exposition of the LoroVs great Prophecy. If what herein 
appears shall happen to harmonize with what others have 
thought or said, — very well, — it will be a matter of thank- 
fulness and gratulation. If otherwise, — it will be an occa- 
sion of regret ; but not, for that reason, a sufficient induce- 
ment to withhold, alter, or discard, the writer's own convictions. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



65 



He claims, within the limits of evangelical orthodoxy, to 
think for himself, and to make known, in a suitable manner, 
his own impressions of divine truth. 

2. " How can we reason, but from what we know ? " What, 
then, are the facts to be considered in framing our theory \ 
and how can they guide us to the ultimate truth? In the 
previous chapter, section 16, the reader will find a summary 
of the principal relevant facts. Let them be well considered, 
before proceeding further. It appears that the apostles came 
to the Lord with some correct, some incorrect, and with some 
confused notions relating to the great matters pertaining to 
Messiah and his kingdom. This afforded Christ an opportu- 
nity of relieving their confusion, correcting their mistakes, 
and confirming them in what they already truthfully under- 
stood. The only thing necessary to assume, (if it be an 
assumption,) is, that our Saviour, in his reply to their inqui- 
ries, did really undertake to make them understand the facts 
in the case. Or, in other words, that he did really desire and 
design to correct their erroneous impressions, and establish 
them in the truth. But, in such a case, it would be necessary 
for him to speak with more or less reference to the precise 
difficulties which embarrassed their minds. And these em- 
barrassments related not only to the nature of the events, but 
to their times, and successive order. This should now be a 
subject of consideration. 

3. It has already been exhibited that the disciples were erro- 
neously impressed relatively to the nature and establishment 

of Messiah's dominion. Their conceptions and prejudices 
were still decidedly Jewish, as distinguished from the evan- 
gelical. To them it appeared likely that their Master would 
literally and visibly raise up and occupy the Israelitish throne, 
and reign gloriously over the nations. The general current 
of thought is indicated by one of our Lord's parables, which 
he introduced in this manner : " And as they heard these 
things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to 
Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of y God 
should immediately appear. He said, therefore, A certain 
nobleman went into a far country, to receive for himself a 
5 



66 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

kingdom, and to return. And lie called his ten servants, and 
delivered unto them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy 
till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message 
after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over 
us." Then follows the other details of the parable, closing up 
with the destruction of his enemies that would not submit to 
his dominion. Now, he had distinctly declared to his disci- 
ples, " Verily I say unto you, That there be some standing 
here, which shall not taste death till they have seen the Son 
of man coming in his kingdom." 

4z. It was very naturally inferred by the disciples, that this 
coming, and this destruction of enemies, and this setting up 
of the anticipated kingdom, would all take place within a 
few years. Hence, when the terrible calamities which Christ 
had predicted, should fall upon the Jews ; when the temple 
and city should be overthrown ; when there should be fearful 
sights in the heavens, and general commotion on earth, they 
would naturally be looking for the second coming of their 
Lord, as a literal and visible prince and delieverer, at that very 
time. But in this they would he mistaken. Hence the pro- 
priety of the first and repeated cautions with which our 
Saviour opened and continued his discourse. The disciples 
had entirely mistaken the nature of the kingdom ; and could 
not conceive how it could be established, in their lifetime, 
without all these visible and temporal results. And, growing 
out of this error concerning the nature of the kingdom, they 
fell into another ; they confounded together two very differ-* 
ent things ; that is, they did not — and, with their impressions, 
could not — distinguish between that spiritual coming at Pen- 
tecost, to establish the spiritual kingdom, and that literal, 
visible, and final coming to judgment, which should be at the 
end of the world. Hence — to anticipate the exposition — 
the propriety of Christ's repeatedly informing them that "the 
end is not yet ; " and more than once, by way of anticipa- 
tion, alluding to the real nature of his final judgment coming 
at the end of the world. 

5. These are the principal elements of our theory. "Who shall 
Bay that it is not warranted by all the facts and probabilities 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 67 

relating to the case ? With this simple plan to guide us, we 
can lay out the work of exposition, without any great per- 
plexity, and, certainly, without any insuperable difficulties. 

We see what was necessary to be done ; and we find the Sa- 
viour undertaking to do it. We feel safe in supposing that 
he did it in the most appropriate manner. But we cannot 
deny, after all, but that there are difficulties which do not 
usually embarrass our biblical expositions. There are, we 
must candidly admit, difficulties which no theory can fully 
and perfectly remove. The author has not ventured upon 
this subject, unapprised of the difficulties of the case; nor 
without a studious examination of the various labors of others. 
The most that is now attempted is this : 

(1.) To give an exposition which shall answer the purpose 
for which the Lord's discourse was originally designed. 

(2.) To expound the whole discourse, so that one part of 
the exposition shall not be in conflict with any other part. 

(3.) To give an exposition which shall not violate the ordi- 
nary rules for the use of language ; but shall treat prose as 
prose, poetry as poetry, and avoid blending the literal with 
the figurative. 

(4.) To interpret those portions which relate to the second 
advent and general judgment, so as to be in harmony with 
the many other portions in the Bible, where Jerusalem and 
the Jews have no especial concern. 

(5.) To show the reason for blending the two leading sub- 
jects in the discourse, and, at the same time, distinguish and 
separate one. portion from another. 

(6.) To show the relation of the parables which are con- 
nected with the discourse. 

(7.) In doing this, as a matter of course, some of the errors 
of the usual interpretations must be faithfully exposed. 

6. It will be perceived, at once, that this work is not par- 
ticularly intended to bear against Universalism. It is espe- 
cially designed for those who are sentimentally orthodox, in 
relation to the great doctrines of the Second Advent, and 
general Judgment. In accomplishing our object, however, 
we do hope to rescue the divine oracles from those orthodox 



68 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

perversions, which have probably done more to originate and 
perpetuate that fatal system of error, than all the preaching 
and writing of its professed advocates. Universalism, as a 
system of theology, was brought forth, and is nourished, by 
just such license in biblical interpretation as has been taken 
by most of our orthodox divines, in their exposition of the 
xxiv. chapter of Matthew. The principal difference between 
the Universalist and the Orthodox writers in the subject now 
under notice, is this: the orthodox teacher adopts a certain 
method of interpreting a difficult passage, and limits it to that 
particular passage, or class of passages. He dares not pur- 
sue his own method any further. He shrinks back from the 
legitimate consequence which he perceives must result, if 
his method should be carried throughout the Bible. The 
Universalist, on the other hand, starting with the usual princi- 
ples of interpretation of the portion under notice, finds that 
by applying them to other portions of the Bible, he can 
explain away what appears to contradict his opinions, and so 
make out a desired theory, notwithstanding all the literal 
teachings of the Scriptures to the contrary. The Orthodox 
is the more inconsistent, and the Universalist is the more 
reckless, and the less reliable. 

7. After all, the truth or error in the usual expositions, 
depends very much upon the manner of interpreting only a 
few of the passages in the discourse. The verses which refer 
to the "end" spoken of, to the coming of the Son of man, as 
the lightning from heaven, to the darkening of the heavenly 
luminaries, to the gathering of the elect together, and to the 
rewarding and punishing of the different characters, — the 
interpretation of these must be decisive of all the rest. And 
to these we design to bestow particular attention. It will he 
desirable to keep the eye upon the record of Matthew, as found 
in the Harmony, with the supplementary additions from the 
other records. The reader is earnestly requested to comply 
with this suggestion. 



PART SECOND. 



THE EXPOSITION 



CHAPTER I. 

Principal subject — Destruction of the Temple. 

Why Christ's attention was directed to the Temple — General form and extent 
of the Temple — Why Herod's was called the Second Temple — Stones in 
the wall — Adornments — Why called Gifts — Improbability of the pre- 
diction — The Romans trying to save the Temple — How the destruction 
began — Two days' Conflagration — Council Debate — The Romans in the 
inner court — Storming the Temple — The Holy of Holies on fire — Des- 
peration of the Jews — Astonishment of the Romans — Progress of the 
flames — Titus in the Holy of Holies — Last effort to save the building — 
How the Prediction was finally fulfilled. 

Verse 1. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple ; and his 

DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM, FOR TO SHOW HIM THE BUILDINGS OF THE TEMPLE. 

The disciples had enjoyed but few opportunities of visiting 
the temple, for their usual residence was in Galilee. It was 
not unnatural for them, then, to express their admiration at 
the extent, magnificence, and beauty of the sacred edifice. 
And they desired to have their Master observe the buildings 
of the temple ; of what materials they were built, and how 
adorned with goodly stones and gifts. As the Lord Jesus had 
undoubtedly observed these things in his previous visits to 
Jerusalem, perhaps their reason for directing his attention to 
them at this time, was, because he had just declared in their 
hearing, that the temple should be left desolate, and that he 
should visit it no more. And he had also on a previous occa- 
sion predicted the utter desolation of the whole city. In their 
still imperfect faith, they may have thought that he had not 



70 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

duly considered the exceeding improbability that such an 
edifice should be so totally overthrown, as not to leave one 
stone upon another. Lu. xix. 44. 

They called his attention to the buildings of the temple. 
The temple proper stood on the highest part of Mount Moriah, 
and was surrounded by a great variety of buildings, of which, 
however, no very definite idea can be obtained without a dia- 
gram. The whole group of walls, porches, and buildings was 
more than half a mile in circumference. The principal build- 
ing, which gave name to all the rest, stood nearly in the 
centre of this vast enclosure, and overlooked the whole. Its 
front, which faced the east, had a portico about one hundred 
and fifty feet long, and one hundred and fifty feet high. 

This temple was, in some sense, the third temple, and was 
built by Herod the Great. But as the second temple, which 
was erected under the supervision of Zerubbabel, 500 years 
B. C, was not in reality destroyed, but only — -by a gradual 
reedification — enlarged and improved, until finally the new 
buildings superseded the former, therefore the new temple 
was still called the second one. And this was the more appro- 
priate, because the regular service of the temple was con- 
tinued without interruption during the whole process of 
renewing the building. 

Our Lord introduced his discourse in a manner calculated 
to arrest attention and affect the heart. He announced the 
utter destruction of that great and holy edifice, so venerated 
and beloved by the Jews ; so admired by the world. And 
his discourse was rendered still more impressive, from the 
fact, that, at this very time, their attention was particularly 
directed to the extent, solidity, and beauty of the holy house. 

[Mark : And one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner 

OF STONES, AND WHAT BUILDINGS ARE HERE!] 

As Jesus went out and departed from the temple, he ap- 
pears to have gone somewhat in advance of his disciples ; and 
when he was in a position favorable for viewing the buildings, 
the disciples came to him to direct his attention to their solid- 
ity and beauty. One of the disciples — speaking probably 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 71 

for the rest — desired him to "see what manner of stones" 
composed the walls. We are informed by Josephus — who is 
good authority in the case — that " The temple was built of 
stones that were white and strong ; and each of their length 
was twenty-five cubits ; their height was eight, and their 
breadth about twelve." 

It is not surprising, then, that these Galileans should ex- 
claim, "Master, see what manner of stones, and what build- 
ings are here !" Each of these beautifully shaped and pol- 
ished stones was as large as a small dwelling house ! No 
European or American architecture exhibits such vast blocks, 
either in its walls or foundations. And there are but few 
architectural remains in Asia and Africa that could compare 
with the Jewish temple 

[Luke: And some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly 

BTONES AND GIFTS.] 

Of these adornments we may form some conception, by a 
single quotation from Josephus, who was an eye-witness of 
what he describes : " The temple had doors also at the en- 
trance, and lintels over them, of the same height with the 
temple itself. They were adorned with embroidered vails, 
with their flowers of purple, and pillars interwoven ; and over 
these, but under the crown work, was spread out a golden 
vine, with its branches hanging down from a great height ; 
the largeness, and fine workmanship of which, was a surpris- 
ing sight to the spectators, to see what vast materials there 
were, and with what gr^at skill the workmanship was done."* 

There were undoubtedly many other ornaments, not only 
of the precious metals, but also of precious stones, variously 
displayed within and upon the temple : it was as beautiful as 
it was magnificent and strong. These ornaments were gifts, 
presented by different persons, for the purpose of beautifying 
the house of God. They were gifts, also, in the sense of 
being devoted to that especial purpose. It was not unusual, 
anciently, for people of all forms and systems of religion to 
make gifts to the divinities they worshipped. 

* Jewish Antiquities, Whiston's translation, B. 15, c. 11, s. 3. 



72 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Those which were devoted to the adorning of the temples 
Of their gods, were conspicuously exhibited as tokens of de- 
votion and gratitude. The Jews were also accustomed to 
present beautiful and useful articles to Jehovah their God ; 
and sometimes they were devoted to ornament his sanctuary. 

The more especial object of this Treatise does not make it 
appropriate to dwell upon the particulars of the structure of 
the temple. The reader is therefore referred to other works, 
in which he may find a thousand particulars which are not 
noticed in this. 

Verse 2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things ? Verily 
I say unto you, \Luke : the days will come, in the which] there shall not be 

LEFT HERE ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER, THAT SHALL NOT BE THROWN DOWN. 

It must have seemed very improbable that such a building 
should be so utterly overthrown, that not one stone should be 
left upon another. The size of the stones, and the strength of 
the walls, and the solidity of the foundations, were such, that 
no common calamity could ever bring about such utter deso- 
lation. And the improbability of the prediction must have 
been greatly increased by the apparently impregnable defences 
by which the holy house was guarded. 

If to this we add, the superstitious veneration which the 
Jews had for their temple, and which at any time would in- 
spire them to make almost superhuman efforts to preserve it 
from injury ; and consider, also, the uniform protection which 
the Romans extended to the religious institutions of the na- 
tions they subjected; we can but perceive that our Lord did 
not prophesy from a consideration of what might seem proba- 
ble, but from omniscient perception of all future events. 

We learn from history that the Roman general who con- 
quered the city, did not design to demolish the temple, but 
greatly desired to preserve it. This was especially true of 
the temple proper. The holy house was strongly built, and 
well calculated for defence ; and the Romans despaired of the 
complete conquest of the Jews, so long as the temple remained 
to serve them as a citadel. 

The desire to preserve the temple did not prevent the most 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 73 

extraordinary efforts to drive out the Jews. So, as soon as 
the Romans obtained access to the buildings of the courts that 
surrounded the temple proper, they set fire to some of the 
outer gates, which were made of wood, and covered with sil- 
ver plates. The fire spread from the gates to the cloisters 
which surrounded the inner court, and raged for two days. 
These cloisters wero three stories high. On the third day, 
Titus, the Roman general, ordered a part of the army to pro- 
ceed to extinguish the fire, which it appears was finally ac- 
complished. 

At the same time he called a council of the commanders 
of the legions, the procurators, and the tribunes, to consult 
with them about what should be done with the temple. As 
it is interesting to watch the progress of all events that tend- 
ed to help or to hinder the fulfillment of the improbable pre- 
diction, the observations on this verse will be extended, so as 
to bring definitely before us the precise manner in which the 
prophecy met is fulfillment. 

When the subject of the destruction of the temple was sub- 
mitted to the council, same of them — as Josephus says — 
" thought it would be the best way to act according to the 
rules of war, and demolish it ; because the Jews would never 
leave off rebelling while that house was standing, at which 
house it was that they used to get altogether." 

Others were of the opinion that " in case the Jews would 
leave it, and none of them would lay their arms upon it, 
he might save it ; but that in case they got upon it, and 
fought any more, he might burn it ; because it must then be 
looked upon, not as a holy house, but as a citadel ; and that 
the impiety of burning it would then belong to those that 
forced this to be done, and not to them." 

But Titus said, " that although the Jews should get upon 
that holy house, and fight us thence, yet ought we not to re- 
venge ourselves on things that are inanimate, instead of the 
men themselves ; and that he was not in any case for burn- 
ing down so vast a work as that was, because this would be a 
mischief to the Romans themselves, as it would be an orna- 
ment to their government while it continued." 



74 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

The house here spoken of appears to have been the temple 
proper, around which the other buildings and cloisters were 
arranged. While this council was holding its deliberations, 
the fire in the cloisters around the inner court was still raging, 
notwithstanding that a part of the army was engaged in sub- 
duing it. 

The opinion of Titus prevailed ; and a still larger part of 
the army was dispatched to assist in extinguishing the flames. 
The fire had not yet reached the temple proper, nor the porch- 
es and rooms in immediate connection with it. Upon this 
lofty, central building, and immediately around it, the Jews 
had gathered, to make their final struggle to save themselves 
and their holy house. 

The fire had now so destroyed the surrounding gates and 
cloisters, that, by forcing their way through the burning ruins, 
the Romans could get into the inner court, and come directly 
around the temple proper, which Titus was so anxious to pre- 
serve. The Jews were still more anxious to preserve it than 
he ; for it was not only their last refuge, but they regarded 
its desecration with the utmost dread and horror. 

The next morning after the council, Titus stormed the tem- 
ple with his whole army, still designing, however, to preserve 
it. The Romans succeeded in forcing their way into the inner 
court, and came into close conflict with the Jews directly 
around the holy house. Titus was at this time resting in his 
tent, some distance from the scene of action. And now one 
of the Roman soldiers, without any orders, and, indeed, in 
violation of orders, " hurried only by a certain divine fury," 
as Josephus has it, snatched a brand from the burning ruins 
of the surrounding cloisters ; and, being lifted up on the 
shoulders of another man, he hurled the blazing brand through 
one of the windows of the chambers that were built around 
the holy house, and set the edifice on fire. 

The flames immediately burst out of the rooms around the 
temple, and mounted upward around the temple building it- 
self; and the Jews instantly perceived that their holy house 
could not be saved. As the flames raged upward, the Jews 
made a terrible clamor, and labored with desperation to pre- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 75 

vent its ravages. " And now," says their historian, " they 
spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered anything to 
restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for 
whose sake it was that they had kept such a guard about it." 

" And now," he continues, " a certain person came running 
to Titus, and told him of this fire, as he was resting himself 
in his tent, after the last battle ; whereupon he rose up in 
great haste, and [unarmed] as he was, ran to the holy house, 
in order to have a stop put to the fire. After him followed 
all his commanders ; and after them followed the several le- 
gions in great astonishment ; so there was a great clamor and 
tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of 
so great an army. Then did [Titus] Caesar, both by calling to 
the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giv- 
ing a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench 
the fire. But they did not hear what he said, though he spake 
so loud, having their ears already dinned by a greater noise 
another way ; nor did they attend to the signal he made with 
his hand neither, as still some of them were distracted with 
fighting, and others with passion. But as for the legions that 
came running thither, neither any persuasions, nor any threat- 
enings, could restrain their violence ; but each one's own pas- 
sion was his commander at this time. And as they were 
crowding into the temple together, many of them were tram- 
pled on by one another, while a great number fell among the 
ruins of the cloisters, which were still hot and smoking, and 
were destroyed in the same miserable way as those whom 
they had conquered. And when they were come near the 
holy house, they made as if they did not hear Caesar's orders 
to the contrary ; but they encouraged those that were before 
them to set it on fire." * 

The inner and most holy part of the building was not yet 
on fire ; and Titus still hoped to preserve that part from the 
flames. With some of his officers, Titus went into the holy 
of holies, and found it to be far superior to the representa- 
tions which foreigners had made of it, and determined to 

* War, B. 6, c. 4. 



76 HARMONY and exposition. 

make another effort to preserve it. So he " came up in great 
haste, [to the upper portions of the building, where the flames 
were burning,] and endeavored to persuade the soldiers to 
quench the flames ; and gave order to Liberalius, the centu- 
rion, and one of the spearmen that were about him, to beat 
the soldiers that were refractory with their staves, and restrain 
them. Yet were their passions too hard for the regards they 
had for Caesar, and the dread they had of him who forbade 
them ; as was their hatred of the Jews, and a certain vehe- 
ment inclination to fight them too hard for them also. More- 
over, the hope of plunder induced many to go on, as having 
this opinion, that all the places within were full of money, 
and as seeing that all around about it was made of gold. 
And, besides, one of those that went into the place [the holy 
place] prevented Caesar, when he ran so hastily out [as before 
mentioned] to restrain the soldiers, and threw the fire upon 
the hinges of the [inner] gate, in the dark ; whereby the flame 
burst out from within the holy house itself immediately, when 
the commanders retired, and Caesar with them ; and when no- 
body any longer forbade those that were without to set fire to 
it. And thus was the holy house burnt down without Caesar's 
approbation." 

Thus, against the wishes of Titus, and in spite of the des- 
perate exertions of the Jews, the temple was destroyed, im- 
probable as the event had appeared. But still the strange 
prediction of Christ was not completely fulfilled ; the most 
improbable part remained to be accomplished ; for with all 
the devastation of human conflict, and raging flames, the 
solid walls and foundations must have remained in many pla- 
ces standing. ]STo common accident, or ordinary military 
destruction, could have thrown the walls so utterly prostrate 
as to leave not one stone upon another. It now remains to 
show how the prediction received its complete fulfillment. 

After the city was entirely subdued, Titus gave orders that 
it should be utterly demolished, excepting three of the princi- 
pal towel's, and so much of the western wall as might serve 
as a protection for the camp of the garrison that was left on 
the ground. The towers were reserved as specimens of the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 77 

fortifications of the city that had been overthrown. And here 
again we bring forward the Jewish historian. 

" Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the en- 
tire city and temple" (excepting, of course, the towers and 
wall afore-mentioned.) " But for all the rest of the wall, it 
was so thoroughly laid even with the ground, by those that dug 
it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make 
those that came thither believe it had ever been inhabited." 

This demolition, as we have seen, extended to the entire city 
and temple, with the aforesaid exceptions, which did not in- 
clude any part of the temple. The garrison which was left 
on the ground was under the command of Terentius Rufus. 
The Jewish Talmudists call him Turnus Rufus ; and they re- 
late, that he plowed up Zion as a field, and made Jerusalem 
become as heaps, and the mountain of the house [the temple 
mountain] as the high places of a forest." 

Thus we have the testimony of such historians as cannot be 
suspected of partiality toward Christ, to prove the most literal 
and astonishing fulfillment of a most minute and unlikely 
prediction. Nothing but Omniscience could have foreseen 
this unparalleled devastation, so many years before it trans- 
pired. We observe here the most minute and rigid fulfillment ; 
and we may not unnecessarily resort to fiction or figure to ex- 
plain any part of this prophecy. 



IS HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



CHAPTER II. 

Principal subject — Calamities of the Jews previously to 

THE SrEGE OF JERUSALEM. 

Supposition of the disciples concerning the Coming of Christ, and of the End 
of the "World — Design of Christ's Discourse — Caution against Deceivers 
— Source of danger — Impostors claiming to be the Christ that was cruci- 
fied — Plausibility of their pretensions — Wars and Rumors of Wars — Pro- 
gress in the commotions — Character of Christ's Predictions — Famines and 
Pestilences — Earthquakes — Singular Comments — Objections — Criticisms 
— Literal and figurative Language — Earthquakes in divers places — Signs 
in the heavens — Fearful sights on the earth — Indications — An Army in 
the clouds — The Supernatural Voice — The wonderful Warning — Some- 
thing still worse — Affecting Illustration. 

Verse 3. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, [Mark : over against th* 

TEMPLE,] THE DISCIPLES, [Mark / PETER, AND JAMES, AND JOHN, AND ANDREW,] CAMS 
UNTO HTM PRIVATELY, SAYING, TELL US, WHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE ? AND WHAT 
8HALL BE THE SIGN OF THY COMING, AND OF THE END OF THE WORLD? 

From the preliminary chapters, especially chap, iii., part first, 
it will appear that the disciples came to Christ with erroneous 
and confused notions respecting both the nature of his com- 
ing, and the time and order of relative events. The coming 
for which they looked was a literal, personal coming, as a tem- 
poral prince, to set up his throne, and reign gloriously upon 
the earth. The destruction of the temple they probably re- 
garded as a part of the general judgment upon his enemies 
which he would inflict at his coming. And they supposed — 
as has been exhibited in previous chapters — that it would 
take place at the end of the world. What was their precise 
idea of the end of the world, does not fully appear. But 
they appear to have understood that the world would, in some 
sense, come to an end, because the Lord had distinctly spo- 
ken of his coming to judgment at the end of the world. See 
Matt. xiii. 

And all this they supposed would transpire in a few years : 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 79 

within their own lifetime. See Matt. xvi. 28. Now here 
was a mingling of truth and error ; a confounding together of 
things totally unconnected. And it behooved the Lord Jesus 
to correct their errors, and to establish them in the truth. 

The theory of exposition maintained in this volume pro- 
ceeds upon the supposition, that this discourse of our Lord 
was intended principally to accomplish this purpose. But as 
this point has been so fully exhibited in the former part of the 
work, it is unnecessary to say more in this connection. 

Verse 4. And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Take heed that no man 

DECEIVE YOU. 

Our Lord begins his reply by cautioning them against de- 
ception. He very well knew that they would be in danger 
of being imposed upon by deceivers. The note of Richard 
Watson on this verse is too appropriate to be omitted : " He 
first cautions them against those false pretenders to the Mes- 
6iahship, who should mislead many of the Jews ; because they 
would flatter their expectations of a worldly kingdom ; and 
promise them deliverance from the hated Romans. Both of 
these feelings formed so strong a passion with the Jews, that 
they were easily led to join the ranks of any pretender ; and 
Christ's followers were admonished to take heed, because their 
carnal and national prejudices were also strong ; and under 
their infatuating influences they also might be seduced from 
attachment to a religion wholly spiritual, — one, too, which 
would appear anti-national, as containing threatenings of the 
entire overthrow of their state and nation." 

Verse 5. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ ; and shall 
deceive many. [Luke : And the time draweth near; go ye not therefore af ■ 

tER THEM.] 

Here our Lord assigns his reason for warning them against 
deception : because there should be many who would under- 
take to deceive them, in a way perfectly adapted to their Jew- 
ish expectations and prejudices. They would profess to be 
their Messiah and deliverer. This would at once arrest atten- 
tion, and any plausible evidence of Messiahship would be 



80 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

joyfully received. As the perplexities and aggravations of 
the Jews should increase, under the hated domination of 
the Komans, they would become more and more eager for the 
deliverer and the deliverance which they supposed were prom- 
ised in the Scriptures. Our Saviour well understood this ; 
and he knew very well how the false pretenders would take 
advantage of it, in order to succeed in their imposture. 

" Many shall come m my name, saying, I am Christ." 

It is possible, and these words appear to make it probable, 
that many of these false Christs did really profess to be Jesus 
himself ; they came in his name, professing their Messiahship. 
If this was so, it of course made the danger of the disciples 
still greater ; for they believed, from our Lord's own words, 
that he would come again. 

That Jesus claimed to be the Christ, that he was unjustly 
put to death, and that he was reported to have risen from the 
dead, and that astonishing miracles were wrought in the most 
public places, in attestation of his resurrection, would soon 
be matter of common report among the people. And that 
he had spoken of coming in his kingdom, even before that 
generation had all passed away, would probably be known 
and talked of among the people, soon after the public proofs 
of his resurrection. 

And it could not be possible for the myriads who had at- 
tended his ministry, and had witnessed his innumerable and 
undeniable miracles, very soon to forget the impressions ex- 
cited by the demonstrations of his Messiahship. And cer- 
tainly the unnumbered thousands who were present at Jeru- 
salem, and witnessed the prodigies that attended his death ; — 
the darkening of the sun, and the quaking of the earth ; — 
certainly these could not forget these astounding events that 
made the heathen centurion exclaim, " Truly, this was the 
Son of God." 

And could there be any probability, or even possibility, of 
forgetting such a supernatural and appalling event, as the 
rending of the vail of the temple from top to bottom, at the 
moment Christ died upon the cross ? These things were not 
done in a corner, nor in the presence of few people ; but in 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 81 

the most public places, and in the presence of all the multi- 
tudes that came from every part of the world to attend the 
great Paschal feast. 

It is probable, then, that years after the crucifixion, the 
principal facts in the case were common topics of discourse 
among the bewildered and excited people, who had either wit- 
nessed these things personally, or heard of them from those 
who had. 

And as the troubles of the people increased, and their su- 
perstitious fears became excited, it is not irrational to sup- 
pose, that troublesome misgivings and gloomy apprehensions 
were occasioned. He whom they had crucified, who claimed 
to be their Messiah, might now appear to have been indeed 
what he professed to be. And with misgivings and regrets 
for the past, they would be very eager to listen to any evi- 
dence or report of his coining again. This would be especially 
true of those who had not consented unto his death, and who 
were measurably impressed with the conviction of the reality 
of his pretensions. 

Any promise of his returning again ; all that he had said 
about it himself; and all the Scripture that looked in that di- 
rection, might be seized upon by the false pretenders as so 
many evidences in their favor, when they professed to be 
Christ ; the very Christ that had wrought the miracles, and 
been the occasion of the omens and prodigies of the days of 
Jesus. This view of the passage is not insisted upon ; but it 
appears to be warranted by the language of Christ. There is 
no positive historic confirmation at hand ; and certainly there 
is nothing to contradict it. The history of the many false 
Christs has not descended to our day. But who is prepared 
to disprove the propriety of giving to our Lord's words their 
most appropriate meaning % 

It is generally thought, however, that by the words now 
under notice, is simply meant, that they would only claim to 
be the Messiah, without making any reference to Jesus of 
Nazareth. But it is plain that the words will bear a much 
more definite application. Receiving the words, however, in 



82 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the sense in which they are usually understood, there is no 
part of the prophecy more abundantly proved to be true.* 

" And shall deceive many. 77 

The circumstances of the case were so favorable for the pre- 
tensions of these impostors, that they met with great success. 
The very people whom the true Messiah could not persuade 
to follow him, were so abandoned to their delusions, that they 
nocked after these numerous deceivers in great numbers. 
Having rejected the true light when it shined upon them, they 
were left in darkness to stumble at every step. 

"And the time draweth near / go ye not titer ef ore after 
them" 

The appearance of the impostors, and the political troubles 
next mentioned, were not far distant ; the time was nigh at 
hand. It seems probable, however, that the reference to the 
false Christs, before the reference to their hearing of wars and 
rumors of wars, somewhat anticipated the chronological order 
of events. The political troubles appear to have been first. 
But as the Saviour thought it expedient to begin his discourse 
by admonishing them against deception, it was natural to 
assign, in brief, the reasons for being on their guard. 

In its appropriate place in his discourse, he resumes the 
subject, and speaks of it more particularly, after describing 
the commotions and troubles which would be so prolific in the 
production of the Messianic pretenders. This trait in the 
character of the discourse will be noticed again, in connection 
with more difficult subjects. 

Verse 6. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars ; see that te be 

HOT TROUBLED ; FOR ALL THESE THINGS MUST COME TO PASS J BUT THE END IS NOT YET. 

Providence so ordered it, that we have an authentic record 
of the various and almost continual commotions which agita- 
ted the world — particularly the Jewish world — during the 
time which intervened between the delivery of this prophecy 
and the fall of Jerusalem. But, judging from the state of 

* See note B, in the Appendix 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 83 

things at the time Christ was living in Judea, it did not seem 
likely that the next forty years would witness such commo- 
tions. The Roman government was well established, and 
general good feeling appeared to exist between the Romans 
and their subjected provinces. Judea was at this time a Ro- 
man dependency, and was governed by officers appointed by 
the emperors. It was also more or less connected with the 
various provinces and small kingdoms abounding in that part 
of the world, and which were also, in some manner, depend- 
ent upon Rome. 

But when agitations began among the numerous Roman 
dependences, it spread from one to another. And as the Jews 
were living in almost every province and city, they could not 
avoid experiencing the inconveniences and sufferings attend- 
ing those political commotions. During the latter part of the 
time that elapsed before the fall of Jerusalem, the empire 
itself was fearfully agitated ; and wars and rumors of wars 
abounded. 

And about this time, for some reason, the Jews seemed to 
become peculiarly obnoxious and troublesome to the various 
sorts of people in the provinces and cities where they resided, 
as they were scattered throughout the world. And between 
the Jews in their own land and their foreign rulers, there 
were almost constantly difficulties. Rumors of the almost 
unceasing insurrections, tumults, and massacres in other coun- 
tries would of course reach Judea, as the troubles in Judea 
would be known abroad ; and the strong bond of sympathy 
by which the Jews everywhere felt themselves united, would 
naturally agitate them, whenever anything of moment befell 
their kindred in any part of the world. 

Judea — and especially Jerusalem — was still the heart of 
the Jewish world. Anything greatly affecting the heart af- 
fected also the extremities ; anything greatly affecting the ex- 
tremities also affected the heart. To give a particular nar- 
ration of all these things, would, as one author very truly 
observes, be "to transcribe a great part of the history of 
Josephus." 

" And ye shall hear of wars" — evidently denotes that 



84 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

those of which the Saviour was now speaking, were not so 
much the wars of the Jews in their own country, as those of 
which they should hear. And by the rumors of wars we are 
not obliged to suppose it necessarily means only threatened, 
or anticipated wars. It may include both rumors of the 
merely threatened wars, and the rumors of actual wars, flying 
about, as is usual in such cases, with the conflicting versions 
which are so well calculated to keep the mind in agitation. 
From the history of those times we find this to have been 
actually the case. There were real wars, with their flying 
rumors ; and there were anticipated and threatened wars, with 
their usual alarms and forebodings. 

" See that ye be not troubled." 

It will be a time of trouble and alarm, especially with such 
as have not the true faith that keeps the heart composed. The 
trouble against which he admonishes them is such as may be 
avoided, even in times of trouble. It is the same word that 
Paul used in 2 Thess. ii. 2 ; when he wrote to the Thessaloni- 
ans, to calm the agitations which had been excited there, by 
the supposition that the day of the Lord was at hand : " Now 
I beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be 
not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor 
by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is 
at hand." 

Do not be discomposed ; do not let yourselves be thrown 
into a tumult / or become terrified. The word is thus de- 
fined — "To make a loud noise, or uproar ; to make a tumult- 
uous noise, or outcry; to cry or speak in a loud voice;" — « 
and some other definitions implying less excitement. 

It would be very improper for the disciples to be troubled 
in this way. It would be so for a number of reasons : (1.) It 
would be an agitation disproportionate to the wars and rumors 
of wars of which they should hear. (2.) It would imply a 
want of trust in the overruling Providence which was able to 
protect or deliver them. Or, (3.) a want of resignation to 
the divine will, if they should be required to suffer and die 
by these calamities. (4.) If the trouble should be occasioned 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 85 

by expectation of the end of the world immediately, as in the 
case of the Thessalonians, it would be occasioned without suf- 
ficient reason, — "for the end is not yet." " The day of Christ 
is not at hand." " For all these things must come to pass." 
They are matters to be expected. The state of the world is 
such as to make it reasonable to anticipate them. Providence, 
in its active and permissive operations, will bring all these 
things to pass. They cannot be avoided. And this is another 
reason why you should not be terrified. Expect such things ; 
prepare for them ; be in such a readiness to meet them as not 
to be surprised into terror. 

" But the end is not yet." 

Neither the end of the troubles and commotions, nor the 
end of the nation, nor of the world. However much like 
universal ruin things may then appear, the end is not yet ; 
there are still many other kindred events to follow. 

Verse 7. For nation shall rise against nation ; and kingdom against king- 
dom J AND THERE SHALL BE FAMINES, AND PESTILENCES, AND [Luke ; GREAT] EARTH- 
QUAKES, IN DIVERS PLACES. 

The wars and rumors of wars before spoken of, appear to 
have related more particularly to the petty jealousies and 
sectional insurrections which more especially affected the 
Jews. But this verse shows a progress in the warlike move- 
ments of the age ; and also subsequency in the order of oc- 
currence. 

These wars now spoken of will be something more than the 
neighborhood conflicts, and sectional commotions among the 
people of the same place and country. It will be a rising up 
of nation against nation, and kmgdom against kingdom. 

And such truly was the progress of sanguinary conflicts in 
those days. The wars were on a larger scale. The compara- 
tively insignificant contests among the people of the same 
tribe, province, or city, soon began to involve nations. The 
leaven of local jealousy spread until the world became more 
generally affected. 

To give a detailed account of the manner in which this part 
of the prophecy was fulfilled, would extend the exposition 



86 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

further ihan would comport with the author's design. Those 
who are best acquainted with the history of those times, will 
be most ready to acknowledge the wonderful definiteness and 
precision of our Saviour, in giving not only a general state- 
ment of the commotions of those times, but also in portray- 
ing the successive order and progress of events. And why 
should he not ? Was he not truly omniscient ? Did he not 
foresee the rise, and progress, and final result of all events, 
just as if they were moving as a panorama before his eye ? — • 
He who did nothing amiss, said nothing out of true order. 
If he sometimes reversed the chronological order, it was for 
some special reason, for the better ordering of his discourse, 
that it might be the more clear and impressive. But in the 
case of the words now under notice, the true order of occur- 
rence is indicated. 

" And there shall be famines" 

One of these famines was foretold by a prophet by the 
name of Agabus, as may be seen by referring to Acts xi. 28. 
Josephus describes it as having been so severe at Jerusalem, 
that many people died from want of food. Several other his- 
torians also mention the same famine. Several times in 
the reign of Claudius Caesar, famines prevailed in several 
parts of the empire, particularly in Rome, Greece, and 
Palestine. Perhaps no other period of time had so many 
famines as this. Those of which we read in the Old Testa- 
ment happened usually after long intervals. But the period 
referred to in the text may be said, with a degree of justness, 
to have been characterized by famines. Some of these should 
undoubtedly be attributed to the agitations of the times. But 
this will not account for them all : some must be regarded as 
special judgments, like the famine in the days of Ahab. 

" And pestilences ." 

Plagues, properly so called, or other pestiferous and epi- 
demic diseases. These should prevail. Such diseases do not 
always attend upon famines; but they are very likely to 
result. There are several pestilences noticed by the histories 
of that period ; and they seem to have visited more particu- 
larly those places where the Jews resided. Perhaps, however, 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 87 

this should not be considered remarkable, for the Jews were 
found in great numbers in nearly all the prominent places 
mentioned in the history of those times. 

Josephus describes one of those pestilences which visited 
Babylon, and occasioned many removals from that city. An- 
other is mentioned by Tacitus, as having occurred about this 
time. But as the oriental countries have been from time im- 
memorial more or less troubled with famines and pestilences, 
they could hardly be considered as marking any particular 
period, unless they occurred with unusual frequency. This 
was undoubtedly the case at this time. 

"And [great] earthquakes, in divers places" 

The word rendered earthquake literally means a shaking. 
It is thus defined by a standard lexicon : (The noun) " A 
shaking; but especially an earthquake." (The verb) "To 
shake; to toss; to agitate; to shake — the earth in an earth- 
quake" The italicising is according to the lexicon, and is 
designed to show the appropriate and common use of the term. 

While no one is disposed to call in question the correctness 
of the translation, as we find it in our English Bibles, is it 
not surprising that some of our commentators should indicate 
a disposition to wrest this word from its appropriate literal 
use in this place, and expound it as a figure >? One justly 
celebrated expositor introduces his observations on this sen- 
tence in this manner : "In prophetic language, earthquakes 
sometimes mean political commotions. Literally they are 
tremors or shakings of the earth," &c. 

Now, the prophecy of Christ must of course be considered 
as " prophetic language," though perhaps not precisely such 
language as the quotation intends. But where is the propri- 
ety of intimating a doubt as to the intention of the word in 
this connection? Has there been any instance of figurative 
language in this discourse thus far ? Was there any difficulty 
with the writer in finding abundant proof of the exact lite- 
rality of the fulfillment of the prediction ? ~Not at all. Why, 
then, unnecessarily introduce any observation that would tend 
to weaken the force, and lessen the definiteness of this 
prophecy? 



88 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Another commentator, still more celebrated than the first, 
comments on the passage thus: "If we take the word Sfitfjaoi 
form 2s«w, to shake, in the first sense, then it means particularly 
those popular commotions and insurrections which have 
already been noted ; and this I think to be the true meaning 
of the word ; but if we confine it to earthquakes, there were 
several in those times to which our Lord refers." 

How many other celebrated divines have ventured such an 
opinion, the author is not particularly concerned to know. 
By whomsoever, and for what purpose soever, such a sugges- 
tion is ventured concerning the application of the word, in its 
present connection, it is certainly liable to several serious 
objections: 

(1.) It obscures a confessedly simple and literal narration, 
(it is certainly so up to this point,) by the introduction of a 
figurative term in the midst of literal language*, without any 
necessity for it, and without any note or appearance of figura- 
tive character. This is manifestly a violation of all good 
rules in writing and speaking. 

(2.) It makes the narration imperfect in other respects; 
first, by leaving no appropriate word to apply to the literal 
earthquakes which did remarkably accompany the other signs 
mentioned in connection with the word in question. Sec- 
ondly, by making the word purely, yet unnecessarily, tauto- 
logical ; for if the word, in its present connections, means 
only the political agitations which have just been particularly 
described, then it is purely tautological. If it means politi- 
cal commotions, other than the first described, it unnecessarily 
confuses the narration, by introducing two different ways of 
describing the same thing — a figurative, and a literal way — 
without the least appearance of a change of style. 

This must be considered in no other light, than that of a 
dangerous precedent in the interpretation of inspired lan- 
guage. And it should never be countenanced ; especially in 
such a case as the one before us, where there is not only no 
need of it, but absolute injury results to the whole prophecy; 
for when we begin to indulge in this preference for the figurar 
tive over the literal, when there is no occasion for the figura- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 89 

tive, with what safety can we be trusted in those more obscure 
portions of the Scriptures, where the literalit y of the language 
is not quite so apparent ? 

(3.) Neither is the ground of choice in preferring the figura- 
tive to the literal, in the case before us, a safe ground. It is 
not always safe to suppose that the noun must have a mean- 
ing perfectly accordant with the verb from which it is 
derived. Rigid adherence to such a rule would introduce 
confusion into our common language, and greatly disarrange 
our modes of thought and expression. It is very frequently 
necessary for us to interpret colloquial language, not so much 
with reference to its radical origin, as to its conventional use 
by the people. And even if there were (which is not the 
case in this instance) any departure from the rigid etymologi- 
cal derivation of the word, the very connection of the word, 
and the admitted facts of its literal fulfillment, together with 
its appropriate and common use, ought to preclude the very 
idea of its being figurative. 

Do not let these extended remarks on what may appear to 
be a trifling matter, become a weariness to the reader. Noth- 
ing is trifling in the words of inspiration; all is serious, 
weighty, and worthy of the highest deference. Nevertheless, 
the comparatively unimportant perversion of the words in 
question would have passed with a mere notice, if it were not 
for the fact, that this loose and inconsistent method of com- 
menting has not only nearly ruined the moral effect of this 
most important prophecy, but has also opened the door for the 
introduction of the most pernicious errors. This tendency to 
figurativeness, which, as in the case before us, without any 
occasion, or justification, confounds poetry with prose, the 
figurative with the literal; — this apparent choice of, and 
appetite for, figurative exegesis, so that whatever seems a little 
dark, (though there is no darkness in the words before us,) 
must be poetized into light ; so that figures are introduced, 
not according to the necessity — the must — of the case, but 
according to the possibility- — the may — of the case ; — this 
mingling together of the literal and the allegorical, making 
our Saviour sometimes narrate calmly like a historian, and 



90 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

then, with the next breath, rhapsodize like a poet, until no 
man is certain what is literal and what figurative ; this is to 
be guarded against and deprecated. 

And it seemed appropriate to begin the labor at the very 
beginning of the figurative indefiniteness and obscurity which 
too many expositors have introduced into this plain, prosaic 
discourse. Straws show which way the current runs. And 
if — as we have seen — popular commentators, without any 
occasion, and, indeed, against occasion, have develoj>ed such 
a preference for the figurative, what may we expect when we 
come to those parts of the discourse, where — from the nature 
of the subject — it may not be convenient to point out the 
chapter and verse of the precise and literal fulfillment ? 
" There shall he great earthquakes in divers /places" 
A plain prediction of what actually occurred. Probably 
no period of the world's history was ever more characterized 
by earthquakes. It was not one wide, world-affecting con- 
vulsion, such as has been known in comparatively recent 
history, but a great many distinct earthquakes ; — " earthquakes 
in divers places" at different times. There is no lack of 
historic evidence to show that this portion of the prophecy 
was literally and strictly fulfilled. Josephus gives an account 
of a terrible one that happened just before the war with the 
Romans. ("War, B. 4, c. 4.) " There broke out a prodigious 
storm in the night, with the utmost violence, and very strong 
winds, with the largest showers of rain, with continual light- 
nings, terrible thunderings, and amazing concussions and 
"bellowing s of the earth that was in an earthquake." This was 
remarkable ; for earthquakes are not usually accompanied by 
such atmospheric disturbances. On the other hand, they 
frequently, if not generally, occur when the atmosphere 
seems unusually serene. An eye witness thus describes the 
state of the atmosphere at the time of the great earthquake 
that destroyed Lisbon, in 1755. " There never was a finer 
morning seen than the 1st of November ; the sun shone out in 
its full lustre ; the whole face of the sky was perfectly serene 
and clear; and not the least signal or warning of that ap- 
proaching event, which has made this once flou isking, opu- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 91 

lent, and populous city, a scene of the utmost horror and 
desolation, except only such as served to alarm, but scarcely 
left a moment's time to fly from the general destruction." 

So universal an earthquake as the one described by Jose- 
phus, might well be regarded, as himself remarks, as "a 
manifest indication that some destruction was coming upon 
man, when the system of the world was put into this disor- 
der ; and any one would guess that these wonders foreshowed 
some grand calamities that were coming." But the earth- 
quakes were to be in " divers places." And so they were ; 
they are mentioned as having occurred during this period, at 
Crete, Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos, Laodicea, Pompei, 
Colosse, Campania, &c. !Not only the Jewish country proper, 
but probably all countries where they resided, were visited by 
these quakings of the earth. 

" And fearful, sights, and great signs shall then he from 
heaven" 

The record of the Jewish historian is so full and ap- 
propriate to elucidate the fulfillment of this prediction, 
that we cannot do better than to have his words before 
us: Speaking of the many false prophets and deceivers, 
and how easily the people were persuaded to believe them, 
and hope for divine interposition in their behalf, he says — 
(War, B. 6, c. 5,) "Thus were the miserable people per- 
suaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God ; while 
they did not attend nor give credit to the signs that were so 
evident, and did so plainly foretell their future desolation ; but 
like men infatuated, without eyes to see, or minds to consider, 
did not regard the denunciations that God made to them. 
Thus there was a star, resembling a sword, which stood over 
the city, and a comet that continued a whole year." Another 
translator renders his words thus: "A sword seemed to 
hang over the city, or a comet pointing down upon it for a 
year, which plainly seemed to portend their ruin by the 
Bword." (Whitby.) "Thus also, before the Jews' rebellion, 
and before those commotions which preceded the war, when 
the people were come in great crowds to the feast of un- 
leavened bread, ... at the ninth hour of the night, so 



92 HARMONY AND EPPOSITTON. 

great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it 
appeared to be bright-day time : which light lasted for half 
an hour. This light seemed to be a good sign to the un- 
skillful ; but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to 
portend those events that followed immediately upon it." 
These were indeed "fearful sights." The " sacred scribes " 
appear to have considered that prodigious light about " the 
altar and the holy house," as portending that terrible fire 
which soon after desolated the whole. "At the same festival, 
also, [the Passover] a heifer, as she was led by the high priest 
to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the 
temple." 

"Was this designed to indicate to the blinded Jews, that their 
typical offering of beaste had finally terminated, as to the 
divine approval, and become fulfilled, by bringing forth Jesus, 
the true Lamb of God? * 

The historian continues — " Moreover, the eastern gate of 
the inner court of the temple, which was of brass, and vastly 
heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and 
rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened 
very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one 
entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the 
sixth hour of the night! " 

"Now those that kept watch in the temple, came hereupon 
running to the captain of the temple, who came up thither, 
and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate 
again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy 
prodigy, as if God did thereby open to them the gate of 
happiness." The "vulgar," as the historian calls them, might 
indeed suppose this indicated the opening the gate of happi- 
ness to them, for it was the opening of the gate that kept the 
common people out of the inner court of the temple, which 
was appropriated only to the most favored portion of the 
Jewish people. 

"But," continues the history, "the men of learning under- 
stood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of 
its own accord ; and that the gate was opened for the advan- 
tage of their enemies. So these publicly declared, that the 



HAUMONY AND EXPOSITION. 93 

signal foreshadowed the desolation that was coming upon 
them." 

It was at the Paschal feast that Jesus, the true Lamb of 
God, was led forth to be slain, as may have been betokened 
by the prodigy of the heifer and the lamb ; and this dreadful 
prodigy of opening the huge brazen gate, happening — it 
seems — at the same feast, may have portended that it would 
also be at the passover that their enemies should succeed in 
obtaining the mastery over the city and temple. 

" Besides these," continues the history, " a few days after 
that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Arte- 
misius, \Jyar, second month of the ecclesiastical year,] a cer- 
tain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared. I 
suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it 
not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that 
followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such 
signals ; for, before sun-setting, chariots, and troops of soldiers 
m their armor, were seen running about among the clouds, 
and surrounding of cities ! " 

"Moreover, at the feast which we call Pentecost, as the 
priests were going by night into the inner temple, as their 
custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said, 
that in the first place they felt a quaking, and heard a great 
noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a multitude, 
saying, Let us depart hence ! " 

" But what is still more terrible, there was one Jesus, the 
son of Ananus, a plebeian and a husbandman, who, four years 
before the war began, and at a time when the city was in 
great peace and prosperity, came to that feast whereon it is 
our custom for every one to make tabernacles to God in the 
temple, began on a sudden to cry aloud, A voice from the 
east ! A voice from the west ! A voice from the four winds ! 
A voice against Jerusalem and the holy house ! A voice 
against the bridegrooms and the brides ! A voice against the 
whole people ! " 

This voice was heard by day and by night through the 
city. No persuasion or punishment could stop his cry. When 
they whipped him until his bones were bare, he did not shed 



94: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

tears or make any complaint, but, with every stroke of the 
lash, nttered "Woe, woe, woe to Jerusalem ! This lamentable 
and wonderful voice continued for seven years and five 
months, and was always heard loudest at the festivals. No 
wonder that it was heard with discomfort and horror. 

Verse 8. All these are the beginning of sorrows. 

But what could be worse than the terrors and sorrows 
already described? Answer — The wars and rumors of wars, 
not heard of merely, but actually present, witnessed, and 
suffered, with all their varied horrors. In particular, the inva- 
sion of their own country with fire and sword, until blood 
and blaze should be the every-day, and the everywhere scenes 
throughout their whole territory. 

And more especially, the unparalleled famine, confusion, 
and carnage that characterized the siege of their capital city. 
The fulfillment of the portentous omens would be more terri- 
ble than the signs themselves. The intolerable ravages of 
the fatal disease would be worse than the premonitory 
symptoms. 

The faithful and but too particular narration of these " sor- 
rows," as witnessed by one who lived and suffered in the 
midst of them, cannot be read by any person of common 
sensibility, without being deeply and painfully affected. 

Dr. Clarke's note on this verse is very ingenious and im- 
pressive: "The whole land of Judea is represented under 
the notion of a woman in grievous travail ; but our Lord inti- 
mates that all that had already been mentioned, were only 
the first pangs and throes, and nothing in comparison of that 
hard and death-bringing labor which should afterwards take 
place." 

All that has hitherto been described, however, pertains to 
the period previous to the final siege of Jerusalem. And 
here our Lord leaves, for the present, the prediction of the 
Jewish cala/rrvities, that he may return and recapitulate the 
sufferings of his disciples. Let this be distinctly noticed by 
the reader. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 95 



CHAPTER III. 

Principal subject — Sufferings of Christians previously 
to the Siege of Jerusalem. 

Correction of the Record — Illustrations — Beginning of the Persecution — 
Progress — Saul of Tarsus — Different forms of Jewish persecution — Per- 
secution by others — Chronological accuracy of the Prophecy — Persecution 
overruled for good — Why the Jews persecuted — Why the Heathen — Pe- 
ter before the Sanhedrim — Stephen — Paul before the Rulers — God's 
design in permitting Persecution — Good result of the Appeal to Caesar — 
Comfort in suffering — Why forbidden to premeditate — Perversion of a 
text — When we may, and when we may not, premeditate — What is meant 
by Taking no thought — Nature of Apostolic Inspiration — What is meant 
by giving them a Mouth and Wisdom — : Examples — Curious way to resist 
Logic — An Orator in Chains — Beginning of Apostacy in the Church — 
Treachery — Progress of Apostacy — Terrible Result — Pattern Age of the 
Church — The World and the Church at variance — What is meant by not 
a Hair of the head perishing — How to possess our souls in Patience. 

[Luke : But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and per- 
secute you.] [Mark : But take heed to yourselves.] 

Our Lord deemed it expedient to speak first of the afflic- 
tions of the Jews generally ; and — as previously noted — he 
extended his description to the siege of Jerusalem. 

When he resumed the subject, as at v. 15, he began with 
the fatal siege. Having thus far spoken of the Jews as a 
people, he returns to the beginning of the period then under 
consideration, for the purpose of showing the condition of 
Christians during the same time. 

" But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you." 

We perceive the importance of supplying a sentence that 
was omitted by Matthew. If we take the prophecy as it is 
preserved only by him, it would teach that the persecution of 
the disciples would not begin until that period of general 
tribulation was ended, which- would be incorrect. The sen- 
tence from Luke removes the difficulty, as may be seen in the 
Harmony. The persecution of the Christians did indeed 



96 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

begin "before all these" Jewish calamities. While Jesus 
was with them, as when the bridegroom is with the children 
of the bridal chamber, they were kept in security and joy. 
But when he was taken away, as when the bridegroom de- 
parts, there was sadness and fasting. The persecutors, having 
so well succeeded with the Master of the house, then began 
to afflict his servants. The green tree had been scorched by 
their flaming madness ; what could prevent the dry tree from 
being consumed ? And the persecutors were not willing to 
wait long before they made a beginning : within a few weeks 
after the crucifixion of Jesus, they began to hunger for the 
flesh of the disciples. 

" They shall lay their hands on you? 

They shall apprehend you, and bring you up to answer for 
your proceedings. This was immediately done in the case of 
Peter and John, Acts iv. 1. " And as they spake unto the 
people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the 
Sadducees, came upon them. 2. Being grieved that they 
taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrec- 
tion of the dead. 3. And they laid their hands on them, and 
put them in hold until the next day." This laying hands 
upon them was not only persecution of itself, but it had an 
ulterior design. 

" And persecute you? 

This was the ulterior object. They wished to get these 
leading disciples into their power, that they might still 
further afflict them. On that first occasion, however, they 
were restrained from inflicting anything very severe. They 
" straightly threatened them," and let them go. 

" But take heed to yourselves? 

It is necessary to be on your guard. JJe wise as serpents, 
for you are as sheep among wolves. Your enemies will not 
cease to pursue you. They may indeed but simply lay their 
hands on you at the first, and persecute you in this milder 
way. But take heed to yourselves ; and do not unnecessarily 
incur danger ; your enemies will not be satisfied with merely 
apprehending you : Do not trust present appearances. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION 97 

Verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up [to councils,] [Luke : to the 

SYNAGOGUES, AND INTO PRISONS,] TO BE AFFLICTED. 

How soon was this accomplished ! A few days after this, 
as the apostles were teaching and healing, Acts v. 17, " Then 
the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, 
(which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with 
indignation ; 18. A id laid their hands on the apostles, and 
put them, in the com -non prison." As yet, however, they had 
not been delivered up formally to the council. But, having 
been liberated by the interposition of an angel, and directed 
to go and preach in the temple, they were once more appre- 
hended, v. 27. " And when they had brought them, they set 
them before the council." There was still another thing to be 
fulfilled, besides the arrest, and arraignment, and imprisoning ; 
they were next in order 

" To he afflicted? 

Here it follows: v. 40. "And to him [Gamaliel] they 
agreed ; and when they had called the apostles, and beaten 
them, they . . let them go. 41. And they departed from 
the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted 
worthy to suffer shame for his name." They were probably 
beaten naked. This was the beginning of their being " afflict- 
ed" for the sake of their Master. The "wolves" among 
whom these " sheep" had been sent, having once tasted their 
blood, will hardly let them escape. 

" And in the synagogues ye shall he beaten." 

Here is the date of Saul's persecution. It was at his feet 
that the murderers of Stephen laid their clothes. He was 
already distinguished among the people for his eminence in 
the matter of making " havoc in the church." " And Saul 
was consenting unto his death." " When they were put to 
death he gave his voice against them." Even so early was 
his influence in this matter felt and confessed. 

And what was Saul's method of persecution ? Acts xxvi. 
10. " And many of the saints did I shut up in prison, hav- 
ing received authority from the chief priests ; and when they 
were put to death, I gave my voice against them 11. And 
7 



98 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them 
to blaspheme." 

How many of the disciples suffered in this way, as " Saul 
made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and 
haling men and women, committing them to prison," has never 
been recorded. And how many times of punishing in the 
synagogues is intended \y this word " oft," we are not 
apprised ; but being " exceeding mad" against the disciples, 
and having " authority from the chief priests," and thinking 
that he was " doing God service," it is safe to suppose that 
the numbers " beaten in the synagogues," were large. 

It is not intended to intimate here that the persecution of 
Saul was all previous to the martyrdom of Stephen, but only 
that he had already begun his cruel work at that time, and 
continued for some time after. And Saul himself, when he 
became an apostle, understood experimentally the sufferings 
which he had inflicted upon others ; and came in for his own 
share of the fulfillment of this prophecy, which at first he 
helped to fulfill upon others. 2. Cor. xi. 24. " Of the Jews 
five times received I forty stripes, save one." Besides the 
beatings and stripes otherwise mentioned, we learn by this 
that at five different times he received the full measure of 
blows permitted by the Jewish law. It was undoubtedly in 
the synagogues. 

" And shall Mil youP 

This was the next thing in order. What was the next 
event in the fulfillment ? Answer — The hilling of Stephen, 
under the superintendence of this persecuting Saul of Tarsus ! 
And now the various forms of persecution which the Saviour 
predicted, have all occurred in their respective orders, from 
laying hands upon, through arraignment before councils, 
imprisoning, beating in the synagogues, and killing. A 1 this 
was Jewish ; and was done regularly, or irregularly, accord- 
ing to the customs of the councils of the synagogues and the 
great council at the capital. 

But shall the persecution extend no further ? Answer — 

" And ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my 
sake." 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 99 

The scene is now to be shifted from Jewish judicatures to 
the magistracy of rulers and kings. The murderers of the 
Master, who succeeding in enlisting against him the power 
of their heathen governor, will soon manifest their pleasure at 
the havoc made among the disciples. Henceforth, those who 
delight in cruelty, or who wish to ingratiate themselves with 
the Jews, will understand how to proceed. The prediction 
is before us ; now for the fulfillment : Acts xii. 1. " Now 
about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to 
vex certain of the church. 2. And he killed James the 
brother of John with the sword. 3. And because he saw it 
pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. 
Then were the days of unleavened bread. 4. And when he 
had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered 
him to four quaternians of soldiers to keep him J intending 
after Easter to bring him forth to the people." 

Soon we find Paul and Silas at Philippi, suffering a perse- 
cution arising from the cure of the wonderful Pythoness. 
Do we inquire concerning the nature of the judicature 
before which they were brought? Answer — Acts xvi. 19. 
" And they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the 
market place unto the rulers. 20. And brought them to the 
magistrates" Kings and rulers were next in order after 
councils. Omniscient Wisdom knew how to frame the proph- 
ecy. The next persecution was that in which " they drew 
Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city." 
Acts xvii. 6. 

We shall soon find Paul brought up to the "judgment seat" 
of Gallio, the deputy governor of Achaia. It would be tire- 
some to follow out much further the fulfillment of this part 
of the prediction. The magistracy of rulers and kings is 
identified more or less with the history of the apostle to the 
Gentiles. 

We shall find him before Felix, Festus, Agrippa, and Nero. 
It has not seemed good unto the Holy Ghost to cause to be 
recorded all the particulars of the further fulfillment of these 
words ; but from many incidental references, we find the 
matter went on. 



100 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

But why was all tins ? Was there no divine power i/j 
restrain ? Or did the Divine Being see that good would 
result ? Answer — 

" For my sake, for a testimony against them" or, rather, 
for a testimony (sis) unto them. And this better agrees with 
Luke's expression — 

" And it shall turn to you for a testimony." 

There are just these two ideas conveyed in this sentence of 
the prophecy ; (1.) That it would be' for the sake of Christ, 
or on his account, that they should be thus dealt with. It 
would not be on account of any evil found in them ; or on 
account of any particular hatred that men would feel toward 
them, as individual persons. It would be solely on account 
of their known and confessed attachment to the Lord Jesus. 
Their open and fearless proclamation of the Messiahship of 
Jesus the crucified, would raise the storm of indignation and 
persecution among their own nation, and particularly among 
the councillors and priesthood of the Jewish nation. They 
were always first in opposition to the Master, and they would 
be first in persecution of his disciples. They hated to be 
charged with the rejection and murder of one whom the 
apostles proclaimed every where to be the only true Christ. 

The persecution by the Gentiles would also be for the name 
of Christ, but for reasons somewhat different : one thing would 
be, the opposition of the apostles to the idolatrous worship 
and doctrines everywhere prevalent, and the fact, that the 
spread of Christianity would be seen to effect, proportionally, 
the downfall of idolatry. 

The worshippers of the great Diana of the Ephesians would 
set all the city in an uproar, on account of this perceived op- 
position of the new religion to their old religion. Yet, after 
all, the Jews would everywhere be the principal instigators 
of this opposition to the name of Christ. They would never 
rest without doing what could be done to arrest the progress 
of the new sect. 

(2.) The other idea is this: their being brought before 
councils, rulers, and kings, would be to them opportunities 
for giving testimony to the truth. They should be permitted, 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 101 

and even invited, sometimes, to testify to the truth as it is in 
Jesus. 

£Tow, however much these simple and apparently unimport- 
ant and indefinite words may have been overlooked, they are, 
in truth, among the most important of those found in this 
discourse. 

Nothing less than omniscience could have foreseen these 
two surprising facts, — that all the persecution which the dis- 
ciples should suffer, and all the reasons for their being brought 
before the various near at hand, and far off, tribunals, would 
be in consequence of their relation to a person who had never 
stepped beyond the limits of Palestine, and whose name was 
hardly known beyond the boundaries of his own native prov- 
ince. 

But the other part of the prediction is, if possible, still 
more surprising. How exceedingly improbable that those 
persecuted, despised, maltreated, dispersed followers of one 
who was crucified as a malefactor, between two thieves, should, 
by the very efforts to silence them, stand up as privileged 
ambassadors, to say what they chose to testify, before all 
kinds of councils, and before all kinds of rulers, in almost all 
lands ! Has it usually happened so ? Were the victims of 
the Inquisition ever admitted to extraordinary privileges be- 
fore their judges % "Were the Protestant martyrs, whose blood 
enriched the soil of England, entitled to special privileges 
before their Romish rulers ? And have persecuted sects 
usually found their judges disposed to listen to the promulga- 
tion of their most abominated doctrines, and keen reproofs 
and admonitions? 

But the omniscient Saviour affirmed that both of these 
things would be true respecting the arraignment of his per- 
secuted followers. 

How did the matter result ? 

The first arraignment was specifically on account of oppo- 
sition to Christ. "When Peter and John were arraigned be- 
fore the Sanhedrin, the reason is thus given : (Acts iv. 2,) the 
priests, captain of the temple, and Sadducees, were " grieved 
that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the 



102 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

resurrection of the dead. 3. And they laid hands on them, 
and put them in hold unto the next day ; for it was now even- 
tide." This was on their Master's account. Did they have 
an opportunity of testifying of Jesus there ? This is the an- 
swer : 5. " And it came to pass on the morrow, that their 
rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6. And Annas the high priest, 
and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as 
were of the kindred of the high priest,, were gathered together 
at Jerusalem. 7. And when they had set them in the midst, 
they asked, By what power, or by what name have ye done 
this ?" [The miracle of curing the lame man.] 8. " Then 
Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers 
of the people and elders of Israel," — And then follows that 
fearless, explicit testimony of the Messiahship of Jesus. 
10. "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of 
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom 
ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him 
doth this man stand here before you whole. 11. This is the 
stone which was set at naught by you builders, which is be- 
come the head of the corner. 12. Neither is there salvation 
in any other ; for there is none other name under heaven 
given among men, whereby we must be saved." 

How this arraignment before this council " turned to them 
for testimony !" 

Peter could not have obtained such an audience as that 
anywhere else ; and nowhere else would such an audience 
have listened to such a fearless testimony. And who but the 
Divine could have foreseen this ? This illustration of the two 
ideas in the passage is given at some length, merely as a spe- 
cimen of the precise fulfillment of this wonderfully specific 
prophecy. 

When Peter and others were arraigned before the Sanhe- 
drin again, soon after, (Acts v.,) he had another as remarkable 
chance of testifying of Jesus. And Stephen for a long time 
had the audience of " all that sat in the council," while he 
poured forth that full torrent of testimony, which they per- 
ceived but too clearly was going to prove Jesus to be the 
Christ. And what an opportunity for testimony had Paul 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 103 

before Felix and Drusilla, and Festus, and Bernice, and 
Agrippa ! And what a chance for testimony as he " stood on 
the stairs" of the theatre in Jerusalem, bound with two chains, 
and gave the discourse recorded in Acts xxii. ! 

This idea of bearing testimony — not against — but (s^) 
to councils, rulers, and kings, is the key that opens beautifully 
that mysterious providence which led the primitive church 
with her ministers through such a succession of persecutions. 
"We may now understand the meaning of those prisons, chains, 
indictments, and other sources of suffering and notoriety, 
which lifted the infant church into eminency, and secured for 
the fettered apostles the audiences of priests, governors, coun- 
cilors, kings, and queens. 

There was much meaning, and comfort, too, for the perse- 
cuted apostles in such words as these : Acts xxiii. 11, " And 
that night following, the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of 
good cheer, Paul ; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusa- 
lem^ so must thou hear witness also at Rome" 

These imprisonments and judicial arraignments should be 
occasions of testimony. 

" Csesar's household " was to be converted; and Paul — not 
Peter — must be the apostle to those Gentiles. He had " of- 
ten purposed " to go there, that he " might have some fruit 
among" them, but " was let [hindered] hitherto." Paul in 
Rome, in the capacity of an apostle, could probably do less in 
giving testimony for Christ, than Paul the prisoner, waiting 
the convenience of the emperor, under the protection of the 
emperor, and dwelling for " two whole years in his own hired 
house, receiving all that came in unto him, preaching the 
kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern 
the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding 
him." Acts xxviii. 30, 31. Therefore Paul was moved to 
" appeal unto Caesar." 

But, in relation to this being all for the name and sake of 
Christ, it is worthy of remark, that, on the part of the apos- 
tles, it was in a sense far different from what it was on tho 
part of the persecutors: with the enemies it was on account 
of enmity, that they might distress and destroy ; but with the 



104 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

friends it was on account of friendship, that they might tes- 
tify for Christ, and establish his religion. They were not slow 
to perceive the advantages their persecutions gained them, 
not on account of sympathy only, but also on account of 
privilege in giving testimony for the truth as it is in Jesus. 
God made the wrath of men to praise him. This must have 
contributed much to comfort and sustain those who suffered 
for the truth's sake. They " took joyfully the spoiling of their 
goods," and rejoiced that " they were counted worthy to suf- 
fer for his name." Paul well understood this matter of per- 
secution and suffering for his Master ; Acts, chapters xx., 
xxiii., xxiv., which see. 

[Mark : Bur when they shall lead totj, and deliver you up, take no thought 

BEFORE HAND WHAT YE SHALL SPEAK; NEITHER DO YE PREMEDITATE; BUT WHATSOEVER 
SHALL BE GIVEN YOU IN THAT HOUR, THAT SPEAK YE. j 

Our Saviour did not design this direction for application to 
all persons, and all circumstances : it was a specific instruc- 
tion for a specific circumstance / namely — when they should 
be led and delivered up to councils, rulers, and kings, as be- 
fore described, and for the purpose aforesaid. Then, in that 
particular case, they were not to depend upon their own pre- 
meditated thoughts either for testimony or defence ; but to 
look for such especial enlightenment and guidance as no pre- 
meditations of their own could secure. 

It is, therefore, a manifest perversion of this passage, to 
apply it to ordinary pulpit and private teaching, as if the 
Lord designed to discourage and prohibit prudent premedita- 
tion and systematic arrangement of thoughts, in ordinary cir- 
cumstances. !No man that loves to think systematically, and 
few that are capable of thinking so, will need these disclaim- 
ers against a somewhat common perversion of this passage. 
But it is well to do everything practicable for the purity and 
propriety of the exegesis and application of the Scriptures. 

No doubt but in many instances too much dependence is 
placed upon our previous meditations, and too little upon the 
timely aid of the Holy Spirit. But these ordinary labors 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 105 

were not the subject of the Saviour's present admonition. A 
very plain rule may be suggested as a general guide in this 
matter : 

(1.) What is already understood, or may reasonably be ex- 
pected, in relation to future circumstances, may be made a 
subject of premeditative preparation. 

(2.) But what we cannot know, or reasonably anticipate, 
of the future, and yet must meet, — in this we must leave it 
to Providence to order and assist. 

This latter was the usual circumstance under which the dis- 
ciples were brought before rulers and kings. The former is 
the usual circumstance attending our ordinary labors. 

In these sudden, ever-varying, and uncertain trials and ar- 
raignments before the different tribunals, no human fore- 
thought could be sufficient to guide in matters. of propriety 
and necessity ; and premeditations and plans would only em- 
barrass their adaptation to the unanticipated circumstances, 
and withdraw their trust in direct and special divine assistance. 

They were directed to " take no thought" before hand, just 
as Christ had said respecting food and raiment, "take no 
thought for the morrow." E"ow, it is admitted by all who 
have examined the word, in reference to its original force, 
that it means something more than mere intellection ; it con- 
veys an idea of feeling as well as cogitation : it is the same 
word that Christ used in his address to the half-distracted 
Martha: "Thou are careful" &c. Luke x. 41. 

The spirit of the Lord's admonition to his apostles was 
about this : Do not be troubled or anxious about what you 
shall say on these occasions. Do not let it worry and distress 
you. Go, trusting in the guidance and support of the Master, 
for whose sake all this is done and permitted. There was 
great wisdom in such an admonition : 

(1.) It would serve greatly to relieve the anxieties of the 
disciples, in these most trying circumstances. 

(2.) It would keep ever before them the only real and re- 
liable source of direction and support. 

(3.) And, consequently, going in this spirit, and divinely 
led and strengthened, their testimony would have a freshness, 



106 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



an adaptation, and a power, that could not be secured in any 
other manner. 

" But whatsoever shall he given you in that hour, that speak 
ye," 

Here is the promise of assistance implied. They were to 
expect assistance from another ; it was to be given to them. 
This is why they ought not to be troubled about the matter 
before hand. They were to speak whatsoever should he given 
them. Their words were to be given them ; and they would 
be aided in addressing them to the people. They were to go 
before such judicatures, expecting to be plenarily inspired for 
the exigencies of the time. 

[Luke : For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversa- 
ries SHALL NOT BE ABLE TO GAINSAY OR RESIST.] 

Here is the promise of assistance given in due form. Their 
wisdom should be given them ; they should be enabled to 
understand and to calculate on the spot, so as to accomplish 
what their adversaries could not prevent. Sometimes they 
should be enlightened with respect to the past / sometimes 
with respect to the fuUure / and they should know how to 
adapt themselves to all the circumstances attending their 
arraignment. 

Their "mouth" should be given them. Their very organs 
of speech should seem to be new ; and would, indeed, be 
newly empowered to speak with the greatest propriety and 
force the words which should be given them. As the result 
of this special endowment, their adversaries should neither be 
able to gainsay nor resist their testimony. 

How wonderfully was this accomplished ! Turn to Acts iv., 
and see the blazing testimony, and the scorching reproofs, of 
John and Peter before the great council that had condemned 
their Master. And notice the result : verse 13, " Now, when 
they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that 
they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled ; and 
took knowledge of them, that they had heen with Jesus. 14. And 
beholding the man standing with them, they could say noth- 
ing against it." 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 107 

When Stephen was set upon unexpectedly by the cavilers 
and disputers of the synagogues of the Libertines, Cyrenians, 
Alexandrians, Cilicians, and Asiatics, (Acts vi. 9,) it is said, 
notwithstanding the odds against him, " And they were not 
able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake." 
And when he was suddenly brought before the great council, 
his speech was so irresistible, that legal pleading and logic 
could not be depended upon to gainsay or resist it ; and the 
readiest way to overthrow it, was, to kill the irresistible 
preacher. So long as he was alive, and had a mouth to speak, 
so long they knew it was hopeless to resist him But a dead 
man was not so formidable ; so they overwhelmed him with 
a shower of stones. 

See how the infamous Felix was made to tremble, as Paul 
stood before him in chains, inspired to utter terrible things 
which could not be gainsayed or resisted. Acts xxiv. 24. 
"And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife 
Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him 
concerning the faith in Christ. 25. And as he reasoned of 
righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trem- 
bled, and answered, [it was all the answer he could make,] Go 
thy way for this time." 

Take Paul's speech before King Agrippa, and the august 
assembly convened to hear him, and notice the effect. Acts 
xxvi. The prisoner stood up in chains, and gave one of the 
most eloquent, appropriate, and affecting speeches that ever 
fell from human lips. It was a most happy specimen of Gos- 
pel testimony. After overwhelming, and almost converting, 
the king, the conclusion of the scene is thus stated, v. 31 : 
" And when they were gone aside, they talked between them- 
selves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or 
of bonds. 32. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man 
might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto 
Caesar." 

The world might be safety challenged to show a single clef r 
instance in which the primitive disciples were found incom- 
petent to defend themselves and their Master before any of 
the councils and rulers of that age. 



108 HAKMOKT AND EXPOSITION. 

But whence the wisdom and words which proved adequate 
for all emergencies? 

[Mark : For it is not ye that speak, but the Holt Ghost.] 

This is the explanation. When these men stood up to give 
testimony, they were more than men ; they had a portion of 
the Divinity. How astonishingly was this fulfilled at Pente- 
cost ! There were promised to them- a " mouth and wisdom," 
in order to qualify them for every unexpected emergency. 
When the whole Jewish world was represented at Jerusalem, 
the fulfillment of the prediction was to begin, and to be man- 
ifested unto the world. Acts ii. 4. " And they were all filled 
with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, 
as the Spirit gave them utterance." And in all the multitude 
of dialects they spake of the wonderful works of God. But, 
in relation to the wisdom and words, it was not themselves 
that spake, but the Holy Ghost speaking by them. The apos- 
tles well understood the nature and source of this astonishing 
endowment. They knew how to explain the wonderful phe- 
nomenon : verse 33, " He [Christ] hath shed forth this that 
ye now see and hear." 

How distinct the prediction ! How undeniable the fulfill- 
ment ! As far as Luke's history of the Apostles extends, it 
seems to be a comment upon the Saviour's prophetic discourse. 

Verse 10. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, 

AND SHALL HATE ONE ANOTHER. 

Many will be scandalized. The new " sect " will be " eve- 
rywhere spoken against." The chief men and rulers giving 
the example and encouragement in persecution, those who 
wish to gain or retain their favor, and those who think only 
as they are taught by their superiors, will join in the popular 
hue and cry against the unpopular sect. 

Many will thereby become disaffected. Their attachment 
to the new religion will cost them their good name, their tem- 
poral prosperity, their social enjoyment, and, in some cases, it 
will cost even liberty and life. 

This will be sacrificing too much ; more than they have 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 109 

faith to endure. Many will therefore be offended ; they will 
stumble at these impediments, and fall from their steadfastness 
in Christ. 

And the offence will be so grievous, that, in many instances, 
treachery and hatred will succeed in the place of confidence 
and love. Those who had pleasantly and familiarly associa- 
ted together, each leading on and strengthening the other, 
will now have their feelings so set against one another as to 
" betray " one another. Perhaps the kindly influences that 
had been mutually exerted to induce one another to espouse 
and maintain the new religion, would now appear as a ma- 
licious effort to draw them into a religion of shame, anxiety, 
and danger. To mutual confidence will succeed mutual 
treachery ; and they shall " betray one another." The warm- 
est love will then give place to the deepest hatred. The union 
and confidence of heart will be transformed into jealousy and 
maliciousness. 

Those engaged in making havoc of the church will not fail 
to perceive and improve this most unhappy result, for the fur- 
therance of their cruel designs. These embittered and alien- 
ated brethren will be used to hunt out and accuse their former 
companions : " they shall betray one another." 

We may find a record of the fact, which will answer as a 
specimen, in the account which Tacitus gives of this pro- 
cedure, in the persecution under Nero : " At first several 
were seized, who confessed, and then, by their discovery, a 
great multitude of others were convicted and executed." 
Annal. i. 15. 

There are frequent references to this melancholy state of 
things in the history and writings of St. Paul. See Acts xx #> 
29, 30, 2 Tim. i. 15, iv. 10, 14. It was thus that he was " in 
perils among false brethren." 

[Mark : The brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father thb 

BON ; AND CHILDREN SHALL RISE UP AGAINST THEIR PARENTS, AND CAUSE THEM TO BE 
PUT TO DEATH.] 

This is not only a more particular description of this time 
of trial to the church, but it appears also to show an extension 



110 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

of the disaffection, until not only the ecclesiastical, but even 
all the social relations shall be disturbed, and families be at war 
among themselves. And now will be fulfilled not only what 
Christ himself predicted on another occasion, (Matt. x. 34,) 
but what was long before prophesied by an Old Testament 
seer. See Micah vii. 6. 

How intense must have been the alienation that caused the 
nearest and dearest natural relations to betray one another 
even to death ! What terrible afflictions to the church, and 
what trial of faith, when parents against children, and chil- 
dren against parents, and brother against brother, should be 
maliciously excited, and cause one another to be put to death ! 

Through such fires as these were the primitive disciples re- 
quired to pass, as the church was enlarging herself, and estab- 
lishing her doctrines, government, and worship, that the d?*oss 
might be purged away from the pure gold, and that the pat- 
tern age of the true church might be an age of tested, puri- 
fied, and duly developed faith and love. 

These were times when they " endured a great fight of af- 
flictions," that the church in all subsequent ages might have 
before her " examples of suffering, affliction and patience." 
This was the time of " the present distress," when Christians 
were called to show whether they loved their master better 
than houses, lands, parents, companions, and life. 

(Remainder of) Verse 9. And ye shall be hated of all nations fob my 
name's sake. 

By noticing Mark, verse 12, it will be seen that these words 
are to follow the account of these afflictions ; and by Luke, 
verse 18, we learn that these words are to precede the reference 
to the hair of the head not being suffered to perish.* 

It is thus that we prove not only the transposition, but find 
the appropriate place for this sentence. 

And it may as well be remarked here, that all the trans- 
positions exhibited in the Harmony are settled by definite 
reasons. 

This persecution and alienation will not be limited to any 

♦See the Harmony. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. Ill 

particular section ; it will be general. The church every- 
where must pass through this fiery furnace. It will be the 
world against the chwrch, and the church against the world. 

The faithful disciples must be "crucified unto the world," 
and the world " crucified " unto them. The " offence of the 
cross" will be great everywhere. The preaching of Christ 
will be a " stumbling block unto the Jews, and to the Greeks 
foolishness." Then " all that will live godly in Christ Jesus 
Bhall suffer persecution," no matter where they happen to 
dwell. The world hated Christ, and he told his disciples not 
to marvel if the world hated them also. Now was it fully 
accomplished. If they had been of the world, the world 
would have loved its own ; but because they were not of the 
world, but had been chosen out of the world, therefore the 
world hated them. And this extended to all nations, Jews 
and Gentiles. In this place, however, it seems to allude more 
particularly to the Gentile nations : the hatred of the Jews,being 
first in order, was more particularly described previously. 

It is wonderful how systematic and precise our Saviour was 
in this prophecy. He pays particular attention to the succes- 
sive order in which the many things would transpire. He did 
not speak of their being " hated of all nations," until he had 
first described how they would become known to all nations, 
by being brought before rulers and kings. And this hatred 
of the nations would be on the same account as that of the 
Jews ; it would be " for his name's sake." And how was 
this? Simply because "for his name's sake" they should be 
brought before rulers and kings ; and the knowledge which 
the people everywhere would obtain of them, would be asso- 
ciated with their relation to Christ. 

[Luke: Bur there shall not a hair of your head perish.] 

Does this mean that none of them should suffer bodily in- 
jury, or be put to death \ Certainly not ; he had just admon- 
ished them of the reverse. 

Does it refer to the probable fact, that all the Christians fled 
from Jerusalem during the siege, and did not in any case per- 
ish then ? Probably not. 



112 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

For (1.) All the apostles, as it is supposed, with one excep- 
tion, perished by violent deaths before the siege. (2.) To 
speak of the escape from that danger would be anticipating the 
time without any evident reason ; for the period of which he 
was now speaking was obviously that which preceded that 
great event. The effort to apply it to that event appears 
strained and unnatural. Besides, it does not seem to harmon- 
ize with the spirit and design of such, a promise. 

It seems to have been designed for the comfort of the Lord's 
people in all ages of the world ; and especially for the com- 
fort of those whose severe afflictions, and imminent dangers, 
occasioned the first giving of the promise. Now to take it 
entirely, or almost entirely, away from them, and apply it 
only to a single circumstance, and a circumstance which had 
not yet been even alluded to, and, by so doing, deprive all 
the coming generations of sufferers from claiming it, seems 
rather more than common sense can submit to. 

But what does the promise mean ? Probably this : they 
were to comfort themselves with the belief that all their dan- 
gers, trials and sufferings were directed or permitted by a 
Providence which was not only personal, but minutely partic- 
ular. It numbered the very hairs of their head. They should 
even regard themselves as the objects of special divine watch- 
care. This would sustain them in that affliction, and in every 
other ; and, indeed, it would be a standing promise for all 
ages of the world. 

This view beautifully harmonizes with our Lord's first ef- 
forts to inspire his disciples with a firm belief and trust in a 
special providence. Matt. x. 28. " And fear not them which 
Mil the body, but are not able to kill the soul : but rather fear 
Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 
29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of 
them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30. But 
the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31. Pear ye 
not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." 

The promise was also undoubtedly designed to assure them 
of a particular providence, not only in the sense of preserv- 
ing, when it should be best, but also in the sense of remwier- 



HARMON \T AXI) EXPOSITION. 113 

ating, when it should please God to cause or permit them to 
suffer " for his name's sake." In that careful estimation of 
all their sufferings and losses on his account, to serve as the 
basis of his gracious rewards, not a single hair injured in his 
behalf should be lost in the reckoning. And, in this sense, 
which is the only important sense, not one hair should be suffer- 
ed to perish : it should be preserved in that final gain of glory 
and enjoyment which all who suffer for Christ, and " endure 
unto the end," shall receive at the hand of their Master. 

And this view of the subject is in precise accordance with 
Christ's own application of this promise, when he first gave 
it to his disciples. Let the reader satisfy himself by turning 
to the place just referred to, and read for himself how the 
Lord designed to be understood. 

Matt. x. 28-39. You will notice here that Christ was de- 
scribing the identical condition of things which has already 
been enlarged upon, without the least allusion to Jerusalem or 
the escape therefrom. Has this matter been sufficiently noticed 
by those commentators who are forever referring to Jerusalem ? 

TTe notice in the passage alluded to, which the judicious 
reader has not failed to examine, that this is the conclusion 
and the application : " He that fjideth his life shall lose it ; 
and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find itP May 
not this be applied to every part of the life ? The principle 
involved in this promise which we are enlarging upon, is suf- 
ficiently exhibited in another place : Matt. xix. 20. " And 
every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or 
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's 
sake, shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit everlast- 
ing life." Here is the principle on which nothing, however 
trifling in itself, can be lost, if it is sacrificed for the name of 
Christ. And by using and applying the common prove? 1 !*, 
which forms the substance of the promise, the Saviour un- 
doubtedly intended to teach them that all their sufferings and 
sacrifices — even to the very least — would finally be reward- 
ed to them, in the gracious remunerations of the resurrection 
state. Not one hair should perish ; in equivalence it would 
remain forever. 
8 



114 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

This would be comfort indeed; comfort in all ages, in all 
circumstances, even in maimings, bruises, and death itself. 
Not only would he put all their tears in his bottle, (Ps. lvi. 
8,) but preserve all the hairs of their head, 

[Luke : In tour patience possess ye tour souls.] 

Rather, in jour perseverance, or patient endurance, (Wojxovij,) 
of affliction, preserve (x^tfadbs) your souls. Others will lose 
their souls, by trying to avoid these afflictions, and gaining 
the world. They will be like those mentioned in the parable 
of the Sower, (Matt. xiii. 20, 21,) who received the seed in 
stony places : " He heareth the word, and anon with joy re- 
ceiveth it ; yet hath he no root in himself, but dureth for 
awhile ; for when tribulation or persecution ariseth, because of 
the word, by and by he is offended" He is one who cannot 
endure affliction; he falls away, and, of course, loses the 
promise: he does not endure unto the end ; and, of consequence, 
he loses his soul. 

This is the very character which our Lord had just been de- 
scribing : there would be many offended, or fall away, in 
consequence of these severe afflictions which would come upon 
the church everywhere. Seeking to save their lives, they 
would lose their souls. Shunning the dangers of the cross, 
they would renounce their Saviour, and their souls would per- 
ish. Bartering their Saviour for the world, they would make 
a wretched exchange : they would lose their souls. 

ISTow, what our Lord desired in this verse, seems to be just 
this : (and how well it harmonises with the whole connections 
of the words !) Do not be of the number who fall away ; 
who cannot continue through these afflictions. But persevere 
until the end is attained ; for, whether you live or die, not a 
hair of your head shall perish ; all will be treasured up to the 
day of final reward. " By patient continuance in well doing, 
seek for glory, and honor, and immortality," and God will 
" render" to you " eternal life." Rom. ii. 7. In this way 
you shall preserve your souls, "Thou, therefore, endure hard- 
ness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ," 2 Tim. ii. 3. " But 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 115 

watch thou in all things, endure afflictions" &c, chapter iv., 
v. See much more of the same import in the same epistle. 

And what has the admonition now under notice to do with 
the escape of a few hundred Christians from the besieged city ? 
How would such a restricted limitation of it apply to the 
world-wide, and age after age endured afflictions which are 
spoken of in connection with it? How does it happen that 
so many commentators appear to see nothing but Jerusalem in 
all these places ? What necessity, or, rather, what authority 
is there for such restricted applications of these ever-during 
admonitions and promises, which Christ designed for the sup- 
port and guide of his disciples forever ; and which, notwith- 
standing all the unfortunate misapplications of them, will, 
should, and must be instinctively looked upon by the unper- 
verted spiritual mind, as present admonitions, and present 
promises, for all similar conditions? It is not safe to overlook 
the instinctive promptings of the unsubverted spiritual mind. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Principal subject — Corruption and Declension op the 
Church. 

False Prophets — Two classes of them — Influence upon the Church — Conso- 
lation and Warning — What preserves the Church — Difficult Text — 
Strange Salvation — Curious Comment — The Truth discovered — A true 
Exposition — Import of the term World — Examples — How extensively 
the Gospel was Preached in the Apostolic Age — Meaning of The End — 
Erroneous Impression — Explanation — Design of the Prophecy — Anew 
Explanation — When, and How, the Jewish Dispensation was consumma- 
ted — The Beginning and the Ending — Objects of that Dispensation- 
Its effect upon common Providence — Error of the Jews — How corrected 
by Christ — Objection — Answer. 

Verse 11. And many false prophets shall bise, and shall deceive many. 

This does not refer to the false Christs who had already 
appeared, but to false teachers who would arise in great mim- 



116 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

bers. And they would be successful in deceiving many. 
Our Lord seems to have the church particularly in view ; yet 
what he affirms would be also true respecting the Jews as a 
people. During the siege of Jerusalem, as Josephus informs 
us, (War, B. 6, c. 5, 2,) " A false prophet was the occasion of 
these people's destruction, who had made a public proclama- 
tion in the city that very day, that God commanded them to 
get up upon the temple, and that there they should receive 
miraculous signs of their deliverance. Now there was then 
a great number of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to 
impose on the people, who announced to them, that they 
should wait for deliverance from God." 

But the false prophets, or teachers, now referred to by the 
Lord, were such as would come at an earlier period, and 
would more particularly affect the church. They were such 
as he had warned them against at a former time : Matt. vii. 15, 
" Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's 
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." 

St. Paul also appears to have the same in view, Acts, xx. 
29 ; — "I know this, that after my departing, shall grievous 
wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30. Also 
of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, 
to draw away disciples after them." And St. Peter has the 
same in view, 2 Pet. ii. 1, " There were false prophets also 
among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among 
you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even de- 
nying the Lord that bought them. 2. And many shall follow 
their pernicious ways ; by reason of whom the way of truth 
shall be evil spoken of. 

Jude also has a bitter complaint against these false teachers ; 
verse 4, " For there are certain men crept in unawares, who 
were before of old ordained to this condemnation ; ungodly 
men, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and deny- 
ing the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." 

We find that not only were the most vital doctrines denied, 
and the most abominable taught, but the false teachers also 
encouraged the most filthy practices. With these things in 
remembrance, we are prepared for the next verse. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 117 

Verse. 12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax 

COLD. 

How could it be otherwise ? either that iniquity should not 
abound, under these circumstances ; or, abounding, that the 
love of many should not wax cold ? With such a woful state 
of things in the church, iniquity would pour in like a flood, 
extinguishing the flame of love in many hearts. 

But who would have anticipated such dreadful corruptions 
in the church, so soon after the resurrection of the Saviour? 
While the blood of martyrdom was even then fertilizing the 
earth, who would have expected such a luxuriance of wicked- 
ness in the church? It was even as Omniscience foretold. 
Even under the apostolic ministry and government; within 
the same generation that witnessed the baptism of Pentecost ; 
in spite of divine admonitions, and living apostolic inspira- 
tions ; notwithstanding all, the true church of Christ became 
infested with schisms and heresies, and cursed with abound- 
ing wickedness. 

From this we may learn two things: 1. To beware of 
pride and vain glorying. 2. Not to despair : not even in the 
most discouraging times. And when we see wickedness 
abounding in the church, as well as in the world, we need not 
give up all for lost ; it is nothing new under the sun ; and 
God will still have a seed to serve him. 

u The love of many shall wax cold." 

And it would be wonderful indeed if it were otherwise, in 
such circumstances as these. When the very fuel of purity 
and truth, that was designed to feed the flame of love, is with- 
held, and every disadvantage is in successful operation, love 
must grow cold ; there is nothing left to sustain it. With 
these persecutions from without, making havoc of the church ; 
and with these corrupters making havoc within, is it not sur- 
prising that the church w T as preserved? It is surprising, 
when we consider matters as they appear to the mere philoso- 
pher ; but it is not surprising, when we consider that the 
church is founded upon a Rock, and that God has sworn by 
himself to defend and preserve it. The church has a vitality, 
in consequence of these divine provisions, wh ch her ene- 



118 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

mies are unable to destroy ; and her identity is as imperisha- 
ble as the souls that compose it. 

Verse 13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same 6hall be saved. 

To the end of what ? Shall be saved from what ? Two 
celebrated commentaries now before the writer, which abound 
with the favorite Jerusalem idea, pass entirely over this verse ! 
Did it stand in the way of a favorite theory ? Two or three 
others touch it so lightly, as to hardly treat it with common 
respect. But one noted commentary of world-wide reputa- 
tion thus expounds : 

" But he that shall endure — the persecutions that shall 
come — unto the end ; to the destruction of the Jewish polity, 
without growing cold or apostatising — shall he saved, shall 
be delivered in all imminent dangers, and have his soul at 
last brought to an eternal glory. It is very remarkable that 
not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, though there were many there when Cestius Gallus 
invested the city ; and had he persevered in the siege, he 
would soon have rendered himself master of it ; but when he 
unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, the Chris- 
tians took that opportunity to escape." {Dr. Clarke?) 

Shall be saved from what ? Why, " he shall be delivered 
in all imminent dangers." How definite ! How satisfactory ! 
It is this, then : " He that shall endure unto the end " — "of 
the Jewish polity, without growing cold or apostatising, shall 
he saved ; shall be delivered in all imminent dangers ! " 

Does this mean saved from all imminent dangers ? or, being 
in such dangers, they shall be saved in them ? To say they 
shall be saved from all imminent dangers, is flatly contra- 
dictory to the plainest historical facts, relating to the history 
of the church in those after days. To say they shall be saved 
in all imminent dangers, is nonsense, and a total perversion 
of the word. But the commentary means, that " not a single 
Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem." Ah, that 
is the salvation, then. He that endures to the end of the 
danger, shall be saved from, or in, that danger ! Well, this 
is information 1 He that perseveres in endurance until all 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 119 

the calamities are brought to an end, shall be saved from 
those calamities ! What a salvation ! 

But what is the end until which they must endure ? Until 
the end " of the Jewish polity," says the commentary. Yery 
well ; when did that end take place ? This same authority 
applies the 29th verse to that event, which relates to things, 
" immediately after the tribulation of those days ! " "Worse 
and worse! It amounts to this, then : If they endure until 
" after the tribulation of those days," they shall be saved from 
perishing vn that tribulation ! 

There are two things in this comment which are deserving 
of especial notice : (1.) They must endure to the end of the 
Jewish polity, which was " after the tribulation of those 
days ; " and, (2.) They made their escape from those calami- 
ties at the time Cestius Gallus invested the city, which was 
at the beginning of the war, and several years before the 
tribulation of those days was ended ! Put this and that 
together, and call the product salvation ! 

But the end was the end of the war. No ; the war lasted 
several years after this escape. It was the end of the siege. 
No ; the final siege had not yet begun. "Well, at all events, 
it was the end of something that terminated about those days. 
Yery good ; but as the promise reads, " He that endureth 
unto the end shall be saved," it is proper to ask two or three 
questions : (1.) Suppose, by reason of disease, accident, or 
violence, they should be unable to endure to the end of the 
Jewish polity ; does the promise save them ? (2.) Suppose 
they endure unto that end, and then apostatise, as some that 
we read of in the book of Kevelation, does the promise save 
them? 

It is worthy of notice that the commentator seemed to 
distrust his own teachings ; for, in connection with this tem- 
poral salvation, he speaks of another ; " Shall be delivered in 
all imminent dangers, and have his soul at last brought to an 
eternal glory" Truly, this puts a new face upon the whole 
matter ; it looks very differently now. But how does it look 
in the connection in which it stands ? Let us see : " He that 
endureth to the end" — " of the Jewish polity," trouble, war, 



120 HAUMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

siege, or something else that is going to end about those 
times — shall "have his soul brought to an eternal glory!" 
Well, this is both definite and evangelical ! We know now 
just how long to remain steadfast in order to obtain eternal 
glory ! 

But you mistake the commentary : it means, He that en- 
dureth — to the end of life. Does it, indeed ? Then why not 
intimate such a thing ? Why not say it at once, and avoid 
this most wretched way of " darkening counsel by words 
without knowledge ? " To the end of life. Yery good ; this 
is right ; it is a pity that the thing was not stated so in the 
exposition ! 

This agrees with both common sense and Scripture ; for 
probation continues during life ; and until life is ended, the 
promise is not made sure. The spirit of the promise is this : 
" Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of 
life." Rev. ii. 10. It was in prospect of immediate death 
that the apostle was permitted to say, 2 Tim. iv. 6, " For I 
am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is 
at hand. 7. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith ; 8. Henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- 
eous Judge, shall give me at that day," &c. And this agrees 
with our Lord's use of the promise in Matt. x. 22, where there 
does not appear to be the remotest allusion to the Jewish 
war. 

How much better than the above quoted comment is that 
of Richard Watson ! Says he, on this text, — " ISTot to the 
end of these persecutions and troubles ; for men may outlive 
their sufferings for Christ's sake, and the grace, too, which 
carried them through the trial, and fall away in times of sub- 
sequent ease and prosperity. Much less are we to understand, 
with others, by being saved, being delivered from the calami- 
ties of the siege of Jerusalem ; for these words, like the pre- 
ceding verses, refer to Christians throughout the world, and 
not merely to those in Jerusalem, or even in Judea. The 
salvation, as the connection shows, is eternal salvation ; and 
it is promised to them that endure. Here the word vzrof/.evw 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 121 

may be taken in the sense of remaining when others aposta- 
tise and depart ; or in the sense of patiently sustaining all 
the afflictions, and conflicts, and temptations spoken of, to tlie 
end of life ; for then only is our salvation secure and certain." 
This is wholesome, scriptural, and satisfactory. But such 
expositions as the one just before examined, cannot be too 
earnestly deprecated. But our task with that kind of com- 
menting is not yet finished ; there is much more to come. 

Verse 14. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the 

WORLD FOR A WITNESS UNTO ALL NATIONS J AND THEN SHALL THE END COME. 

Whether the word world in this verse should be understood 
in its most extensive import, as it is used in some places ; or 
whether it should be understood in a somewhat limited sense, 
as it is not unfrequently used, admits of a question. There 
can be no doubt, however, but that it should be understood 
in a very general sense,.as including the greater proportion of 
the habitable earth. Perhaps the ordinary colloquial import 
of the term is sufficiently definite. We say all the world was 
represented in the great London Exhibition. But we do not 
wish to be understood in the most exact and extensive sense. 
Alexander conquered the world, is a very common expression ; 
but no one understands it in its most extensive import. Luke 
ii. 2. " There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that 
all the world should be taxed." Here is the same original 
word that is used in the verse under notice. But it evidently 
means the Roman empire, which did by no means include 
literally all the world. 

But the word before us, in its present connections, should 
not be limited to the empire ; for it was to be " unto all 
nations." It is possible that it should be as unrestricted in 
its application, as it is in Mark xvi. 15. u Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every creature." True, the 
word in this text is xotfjxov, and the word in the verse under 
examination is ojxovfxsvyj ; but a little attention to the use of the 
words will show that they are used interchangeably. In Ro- 
mans x. 18, we have this latter word used to show the general 
promulgation of the gospel : " I say, Have they not heard % 



122 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Yes, verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their 
words nnto the ends of the (oixov^sv^) world." In Colossians 
i. G, we have the other word ; speaking of the general spread 
of the gospel, it is said, " Which is come unto you, as it is in 
all the (xo0>w) world." In Acts xvii. 31, where the universal 
judgment is spoken of, the same word is used that we find in 
the verse under notice. "Because he hath appointed a day, 
in the which he will judge the (oimv^sv^v) world in righteous- 
ness, .... whereof he hath given assurance unto all 
men" &c. "We perceive by this that the word may mean, 
and sometimes does mean, the whole habitable world. 

And there is not only no particular reason for restricting 
the word in the verse before us ; but, on the other hand, there 
is reason for understanding it in its fullest signification. This 
is shown by the above quotations from Rom. x. 18, and Col. 
i. 6, where it is distinctly affirmed that the gospel had been 
carried throughout the world. And the same thing is affirmed 
very plainly in the 23d verse of the last mentioned chapter : 
" Which was preached to every creature under heaven." 

And this is proved also by reliable history. Eusebius, B. 
2, c. 3, says, (and he speaks of the period before the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem,) " Thus, then, under a celestial influence 
and cooperation, the doctrine of the Saviour, like the rays of 
the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in 
accordance with divine prophecy, the sound of his inspired 
evangelists and apostles had gone throughout all the earth, 
and their words to the end of the world." It would seem 
as if these proofs ought to be deemed sufficient to establish the 
conclusion respecting the extent of the signification of this 
word, especially as there is nothing to show to the contrary. 

" And then shall the end come;." 

What end is here intended? Answer — the end about 
which they inquired ; but not the end as they understood it. 
" What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the 
(aiwvos) age, or dispensation f " This rendering is according to 
the best authorities. The question appears to have been this : 
What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the (tfumXeio^) 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 123 

finishing, or consummation of the (aiwvos) age — the present 
age, or duration of time that is to terminate when thou com- 
est ? By examining the chapter devoted to these inquiries, 
(Part 1, chap. 3,) there will be no difficulty in understanding 
what follows. The end here spoken of is undoubtedly the 
same that they had in view in their interrogations. It had a 
Jewish signification, and related to the closing up of the 
cuwvos then passing, and the establishment of the Messianic 
dispensation. But the manner in which they propounded 
their questions, manifested confusion and error in their appre- 
hension of the subject. And the Theory of this Exposition 
supposes that this discourse of our Lord was designed to cor- 
rect their erroneous impressions, and confirm them in the 
truth. 

The note of "Wesley is to the point, and characteristic of 
his remarkable clearness and precision. "The disciples 
inquire confusedly, 1, Concerning the time of the destruction 
of the temple ; 2, Concerning the signs of Christ's coming, 
and of the end of the world, as if they imagined these two 
were the same thing." 

The confusion of the disciples had respect to two things — 
1. Supposing that Christ's coming spiritually, for the establish- 
ment of the Mediatorial kingdom, which would be during 
their own natural lifetime, was the same as the personal, 
visible advent for the judgment of the world, which will be 
at the final consummation — not of the Jewish period — but 
of the probation of the nations of the earth, when all nations 
shall be judged. They were also in error, 2, In supposing 
that the destruction of the temple would be synchronous with 
the coming of Christ, as they understood that coming, and as 
just above explained. This statement of the case is of great 
importance to a correct understanding of what follows. 

In view of the erroneous impression of the disciples, our 
Lord undertakes to show them three things : 1, The (rfuvrsXsia) 
consummation of that age ; 2, The destruction of the temple, 
and its attending calamities ; 3, The judgment advent of the 
Son of man, at the end of the world. 

These three things he presents in their respective order, and 



124 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

pays the strictest regard to the chronology of the events 
The verse under notice relates to the consummation of the 
then present (ouwvos) age ; and it teaches not only when, but 
how, it should terminate. 

The author is apprised that what he is about to advance 
concerning the time and manner of closing up the Jewish 
age is entirely new. And it ought to be new ; for, after years 
of research, he has not had the happiness of finding any ex- 
planation of this subject that has appeared to be consistent 
either with the Scriptures, or with itself. 

But to the question : 

" And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all 
the world, for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the 
end come." 

The complete and literal accomplishment of the first part 
of this prediction, has already been shown in the proper place. 
And it has been proved to have been fulfilled during the 
apostolic times. We now proceed to speak of the end which 
should result from that fulfillment. 

God raised up, separated, and peculiarly distinguished and 
governed, the Jewish people. And it was for the accomplish- 
ment of a distinct and peculiar purpose, during a definite and 
limited time. They were chosen to receive a particular 
knowledge of the nature and will of God, and to preserve 
that knowledge in the midst of the darkness and idolatry of 
the world ; so that, at a more suitable time, when God should 
think advisable, it might be communicated to the world 
generally. 

Intimately connected with this general design, there was 
another, more specific, and, if possible, more important : The 
world was, in due time, to be taught (perhaps it should read, 
retaught) the divine method of salvation, through the sacrifi- 
cial suffering and death of God's own beloved Son. Hence, 
for this two-fold purpose, the Jews received not only the 
moral law, by which is the knowledge of sin; but also the 
ceremonial law, by which to show the salvation from sin. 
The moral law of necessity implies and contains all appropri- 
ate doctrines and duties. The ceremonial law as necessarily 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 125 

contained multiform typical services, designed to show both 
the necessity and nature of salvation, through the sacrificial 
Buffering and death of another. 

These statements need not be enlarged upon, in this connec- 
tion, for they are understood by all who will candidly examine 
this Exposition. 

Now this two-fold purpose God undertook to accomplish by 
means of the Jewish nation, until Divine Wisdom should see 
fit to fufill the typical dispensation, by the sacrificial death 
and offering of Jesus Christ once for all. Christ was the 
Lamb of God to which all previous offerings significantly 
pointed. Whatever human ignorance may think of this, it 
was undeniably the design and method of Infinite Wisdom. 
And the Jewish people were selected for the purpose of carry- 
ing this double purpose forward to completion. 

As one would reasonable expect, the divine administration 
over the world had always a particular respect to the accom- 
plishment of this object, as it was, for a definite period, com- 
mitted to the Jews. This great purpose was ever distinctly 
in view by the divine Mind, in all the principal events of that 
former dispensation. All would be dark, inexplicably dark, 
and unsatisfying, but for this. 

Now, that period of time during which this matter was 
intrusted to that people, and for whose sake, on this account, 
the world was more or less affected and governed, was em- 
phatically the Jewish (aiwvos) age. Everything in the divine 
administration was more or less Jewish in its reference and 
tendency, for this specific reason. It was a peculiar age for 
a peculiar purpose. And as it was not designed to be eternal, 
but temporary, it was necessarily limited to the period of its 
propriety, and then must terminate. 

The time of limiting the light of God's will and nature to 
that people, must in due time have an end ; and then God 
would send out his light and his truth abroad unto all people. 
Then there would be no longer any necessity or propriety in 
confining to that people the glad tidings of salvation through 
the redemption wrought out by the world's Kedeemer. The 
door of information and privilege must then be opened to the 



126 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

excluded nations. The middle wall of separating exclusive- 
ness must then be broken down. And this must terminate 
that peculiar dispensation. It will then have accomplished 
its purpose ; and will be dismissed from its position in the 
divine government. 

But it would not be completely ended in a moment, for it 
did not completely begin in a moment. It required progressive 
and gradual consummation both in. beginning and ending. 
We might suppose that aiwvo$ began with the call of Abraham ; 
but did it then have the written and ceremonial law ? Could 
it then systematically and significantly typify the priesthood 
and sacrifice of Christ % "No ; and yet that age was, to some 
extent, begun. 

We might suppose it began with the Exodus from Egypt ; 
but were the typical institutions completely selected and 
established ? JSTo ; but there had been progress. It was not 
until after the giving of the law, and the consecration of the 
Levitical priesthood, and the setting up of the tabernacle, 
that the typical aiwvog- was fully established. It was not 
unbegun before ; but it was uncomplete until then. 

Just so in the ending or consummation of that period ; it is 
easy to perceive that even with John the Baptist it began to 
terminate : " The law and the prophets were until John ; 
since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and e very- 
man presseth into it." Luke xvi. 16. And when Christ and 
his first embassy of apostles began to preach, " The kingdom 
of heaven is at hand," there had been progress from John ; 
but there was still farther progress to make. The new dis- 
pensation began to jostle and to crowd the other; but both 
seemed for a time to coexist. The dawning of the new day 
began to shed twilight over the Israelitish hills ; but the day 
had not yet fully come. " Let thy kingdom come," was still 
the prayer of the church. And yet the Saviour affirmed, " If 
I by the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt but the king- 
dom of God is come upon you." Luke xi. 20. The view of 
the subject here defended, is the only one that can naturally 
harmonize those passages which teach that the kingdom had 
come, was nigh, and was yet to come. The fact is, the new 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 127 

dispensation was gradual in completing its beginning ; and 
the old dispensation was as gradual in completing its consum- 
mation. When the Lamb of God was made an offering for 
sin, so far as sowing efficacy was concerned, the old dispensa- 
tion was ended, and the new one established. 

But still the time had not yet arrived for opening the door 
to the Gentiles ; the keys were already in the hands of the 
apostles ; but they had not learned how to nse them. They 
were instructed in relation to their duty to disciple all nations ; 
but commanded to begin at Jerusalem, and for a season to 
tarry there. God had not yet granted this salvation to the 
Gentiles. But the old dispensation, in regard to its exclusive- 
ness, was now ended ; the door of salvation was opened to 
the whole world. Yet one thing of importance remained : the 
hitherto excluded nations must now be imformedof their com- 
mon election to the privileges of the new dispensation ; and 
the far-off and universally scattered tribes of Israel, yet 
remaining in conscientious observance of the fulfilled institu- 
tions of the Jewish aiwvos, must now be visited by the ambas- 
sadors of the new kingdom, and invited to bow to the sceptre 
that governs to save. The obligation, the exclusiveness, the 
privileges, and the efficacy of the Jewish dispensation have 
already ended ; and but this one thing remains to complete 
its termination. 

When shall the end be ? and how shall it be % Ajaswer : 
" And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the 
world, for a witness unto all nations / and then shall the 

END BE." 

As from the call of Abraham to the setting up of the 
tabernacle, it was progressing to its complete beginning / so 
from the days of John until this universal testimony to the 
nations, it was passing away, one thing after another, until its 
complete ending. This shall be the end. 

But the end would not come as they supposed it would. 
They thought Christ would then make his appearance in his 
judgment character, to establish such a worldly kingdom af. 
the Jews were generally and fondly expecting. They antici- 
pated some great and violent commotion, of which tho 



128 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

destruction of the unbelieving Jews, with their holy house, 
would be a part. The predicted commotions and general 
judgment of the nations, at the closing up of the Gospel age, 
as related in Matt. xiii. and elsewhere, they had confounded 
with the extensive commotions and particular judgment of 
the Jewish people, at the closing up of the Jewish age. And 
this great mistake originated from their erroneous conceptions 
of Messiah's kingdom. The discourse of Christ was undoubt- 
edly intended to correct their errors ; and most clearly did it 
do so, if we may judge from its adaptation. 

It is lamentable that this misconception of the matter which 
the disciples manifested, and which our Lord undertook to 
correct, should still be propagated, to the confusion of God's 
people, and the encouragement of error and delusion. 

Up to this point in the prophecy, our Lord has accomplished 
two things : 1. He has corrected their misconception, that 
the end of the Jewish age would synchronise with his second 
personal coming to judgment. He has passed on from one 
event to another, with strict regard to the chronologic order, 
and conducted them down to the end of which they inquired, 
without a single reference to his personal coming. Thus has 
he corrected their erroneous impression in respect to that 
point. 2. In the second place, he has taught them that the 
nature of his kingdom* is not such as they expected : it will 
not come " with observation : " it will not be an earthly, visi- 
ble kingdom ; but one that will be established and spread 
abroad by the suffering, martyrdom, and testimony of his 
disciples ; and its establishment completed by the universal 
proclamation of the Gospel. 

To this view there may be urged this objection : That the 
phrase tfuvrsXsios rou aiwvos, in Matt, xxiv., and which event ter- 
minated before the fall of Jerusalem, is the same as in Matt. 
xiii., where it evidently refers, not to the end of the Jewish 
age, but to the end of the world. 

The point of the objection is this : That in Matt. xxiv. the 
euwvos terminated previously to the destruction of Jerusalem ; 

* During the Gospel dispensation. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 129 

whereas, in Matt. xiii. we understand the term to refer to the 
end of the world, at the day of judgment. 
Just so ; and this is the answer — 

1. Tou aiwvos, in Matt, xxiv., was evidently the Jewish age, 
which had just been the subject of discourse, and was then 
the matter of conversation and inquiry. 

2. But, in Matt, xiii., the Jewish age or dispensation was 
neither directly nor indirectly referred to ; and did not in 
any sense form the subject of inquiry or discourse. 

3. The "kingdom of heaven" — the Messianic age — was 
distinctly and confessedly the subject of the parables contain- 
ing the phrase in question. And in every instance, to guard 
against being misunderstood, the parables were thus intro- 
duced — "The kingdom of heaven is like," &c. 

4. Finally, as must be evident to all, the ajwvoj referred to in 
both portions of the record, was the specific age which was 
then the special subject of inquiry and discourse. Therefore, 
what is affirmed of the end of the aiwvog- in Matt, xiii, has no 
proper connection with what is affirmed of the end of the 
aiwvoj in the verse under comment ; for, in one place, the 
(Tuv<rsXe«a -of the Jewish dispensation is referred to ; and, in the 
other place, the (fuv<rsXs»a of the Messianic. 

9 



130 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



CHAPTER Y. 

Principal subject — Flight of the Christians. 

Progressive order of the Prophecy — What is'indicated by the Inquiries that 
led to the Prophecy — When did the Christians fiee from Jerusalem? — 
Difficulty in determining — Strange blunders in quoting History — What 
•was the Signal for beginning the Flight — Abortive efforts to determine — 
The Source of Information — Probable time of the Flight — Three Consid- 
erations — Interesting Parenthesis — Further Information concerning the 
Flight — Two Aspects of the Signal — Wisdom of the Lord's Direction — 
Benefit to Christians of all countries — Description of the Flight — Regu- 
lations of the Flight — How the Families were Saved — Our Lord's Proph- 
ecy partly a Compilation — Why those days were called Days of Vengeance 
— How long they were to continue — An important consideration — Con- 
dition of Women with young Children — Time of the Year when the Flight 
occurred — Why not on the Sabbath — Numbers Destroyed and taken Cap- 
tive during the War — The Elect for whose sake those days were shortened. 

Verse 15. When te therefore shall see [Luke : Jerusalem compassed with 
armies] the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet [stand- 
ing] [Mark: where it ought not,] in the holt place, (whoso readeth, let him 
understand,) [Luke: then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.] 

Verse 16. Then let them which be ln Judea flee into the mountains. 

Having finished his discourse respecting the events which 
would occur previously to the first siege of Jerusalem, and 
thereby answered the inquiry concerning the consummation 
of that age, our Lord now proceeds to speak of the time and 
manner of the destruction of the temple, and the attending 
and resulting calamities. This would answer another of their 
inquiries, and remove their erroneous impressions respecting 
the successive order of the events. From the order of their 
interrogations, it would seem that they had either no definite 
conception of the chronologic relation of the events, or else 
supposed that the first in order would be the destruction of 
the temple ; following that, the coming of Christ ; then, the 
end of the world. 

Our Lord now gives them to understand, (1.) That the several 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 131 

events would not occur at the same time, but would transpi *e 
in a determinate order. (2.) That the first would be the end 
of the ouwvocr, about which they inquired ; then, the destruction 
of the temple, and the general desolation. He now proceeds 
to speak of the period of time that follows the consummation 
of the Jewish cuuvos, — a period which is not yet finished ; and 
will not be, until Jerusalem ceases to be trodden down under 
the feet of the Gentiles. 

" When ye tJierefore shall see Jerusalem compassed with 
armies" 

The destruction and desolation would be effected by armies. 
The city should be besieged — compassed with armies. It 
would not be desolated by earthquakes, or by any natural con- 
vulsion; but men — men in armies — would destroy it. In 
this we observe again the definiteness and minuteness of our 
Lord's predictions. When they should see these surrounding 
armies, they were directed to take their flight into the 
mountains. 

Now it may be supposed by some that there could be no 
difficulty in ascertaining the precise time when the Christians 
were to begin their flight. But after a thorough investigation 
of this subject, the author finds that this point is involved in 
great uncertainty. It is generally supposed to refer to the 
siege at the beginning of the war, when Cestius Gallus so 
suddenly and unexpectedly retired from the city. There are 
many affirmations to this effect ; but there are but few references 
to history. And, what is certainly surprising, the usual ref- 
erences do not sustain the point which they are quoted to prove. 

For instance, Newton on the Prophecies,* p. 344, assumes 
and explains as follows : " When therefore the Roman army 
shall advance to besiege Jerusalem, then let them who are in 
Judea consult their own safety, and fly into the mountains. 
This counsel was wisely remembered, and put in practice by 
the Christians afterwards. Josephus informs us, that when 
Cestius Gallus came with his army against Jerusalem, many 
fled from the city as if it would be taken presently : and after 

* Lond. ed., 1 vol. 8vo. ; reprinted at Phila., 1850. 



132 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

his retreat, many of the noble Jews departed out of the city, 
as out of a sinking ship," &c. The reference is to War, B. 2, 
c. 19, s. 6. Now this reference does not sustain the position 
assumed ; for, (1.) Josephus is not speaking of Christians at 
all, but of a very different class of persons ; and, (2.) he is net 
speaking of what was done, "when Cestius Gallus advanced 
to besiege Jerusalem," and " came with his army against Je- 
rusalem ; " but of what was done after the city had been besieged. 
and when the citizens thought the place was about to be taken. 
"And now it was that a horrible fear seized upon the seditious, 
insomuch that many of them ran out of the city, as though it 
were to be taken immediately." But what has this to do with 
the point at issue ? It neither relates to the time, nor to the 
characters, which Newton's use of the quotation supposes. 

Newton also refers to two other periods, subsequent to the 
first, when he supposes the opportunity was given to the 
Christians to begin their flight. The first reference is to War, 
B. 2, c. 20, s. 1. : "After this calamity had befallen Cestius, 
mauy of the most eminent of the Jews swam away from the 
city, as from a ship when it was going to sink." Now it is by 
no means certain, and but barely possible, that this was the 
time of the flight ; for it is exceedingly unlikely that Josephus 
would speak of Christians as " the most eminent of the Jews." 
And what stands in connection with the quotation, renders 
the inference still less probable. The third quotation is still 
less relevant than the former : War, B. 4, c. 8, s. 2 : " Here- 
upon a great multitude prevented their approach, and came 
out of Jericho, and fled to those mountainous parts over 
against Jerusalem," &c. 

Now, observe, (1.) That this happened several years after 
the former ; so that if the signal for beginning the flight had 
appeared so long before, as the former quotations were de- 
signed to prove, then there could be no probability in the 
supposition that these fugitives were such as were guided by 
the prediction of Christ. Everything favors the conclusion 
that they were not Christians, but Jews merely, who had been 
engaged in the war, until further efforts were deemed to be 
hopeless. And observe, (2.) That the flight of the multitude 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 133 

here alluded to, happened near the close of the war, when u all 
the places beyond Jordan had been subdued already;" and 
when the whole country north, south, and west, had been rav- 
aged by the Romans. This flight of the multitude from Jeri- 
cho was several years too late in the war for Christians to 
escape the calamities, as the Lord undoubtedly designed they 
should by giving them such a definite signal. Furthermore, 
observe, (3.) That Jerusalem was not then, and for several 
years had not been, " compassed with armies" standing in the 
holy place, or in its immediate vicinity. So much for these 
quotations. 

From this utterly abortive attempt of Newton to show from 
Josephus the particular time which the Lord had in view, in 
directing the period of the flight, we must be impressed with 
these two things : 1. The difficulty of determining the precise 
period : 2. The irrelevancy and insufficiency of these standard 
references to ancient history. 

We have another example of the same kind in Dr. Clarke's 
Commentary on verse 13, of the chapter before us : " It is 
very remarkable that not a single Christian perished in the 
destruction of Jerusalem, though there were many there when 
Cestius Gallus invested the city ; and had he persevered in the 
siege, he would have soon rendered himself master of it; but 
when he unexpectedly and unaccountably raised the siege, 
the Christians took that opportunity to escape. See Eusebius 
Hist. Eccles. B. 3, c. 5, and Mr. Reading's note there ; and see 
also the note here on verse 20." 

Now, it is certain that Eusebius does not, in the place re- 
ferred to, speak of Cestius at all ; neither does he speak of the 
time when the Christians took their flight ; but simply states 
the fact of their escape. If anything respecting the time can 
be inferred from Eusebius, it will be totally inapplicable, and 
directly at variance with the Doctor's use of him ; for Eusebius 
understood our Lord to speak of the time when " the abomi- 
nation of desolation, according to the prophetic declaration, 
stood in the very temple of God" But this did not take place 
until several years after the attack made by Cestius, to which 
Dr. Clarke refers. And, furthermore, it was not until about 



134: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the end of the war ; and vet it was to be the signal for begin- 
ning the flight, in order to escape the calamities of the war ! 

It is worthy of notice, that Bishop Xewton refers to this 
very place in Ensebius, not to prove that the flight occurred 
at the approach or retreat of Cestins ; butrto show that it took 
place several years afterwards, "when "P^?a^/a?i was drawing 
his forces toward Jerusalem ! " "Well, we know that even this 
was some time previous to the final siege of the city ; and, of 
course, still longer before the abomination of desolation "stood 
in the very temple of God," as Eusebius understood it ; for 
this did not occur until the close of the war under Titus ! So 
much for the agreement, relevancy, and value of these stand- 
ard historical references ! This will do for the present : there 
will be more examples hereafter. 

Dr. Clarke and Bishop Newton both suppose that the sig- 
nal by which the Christians were to regulate their flight, was 
displayed at different times during the war ; and, consequently, 
that the flight may have occurred at different times. The 
Doctor supposes " It was in these incidental delays that the 
Christians, and indeed several others, provided for their own 
safety by flight." And the Bishop extends the time from the 
approach of Cestius, at the first siege, to the approach of Yes- 
jpasian, a year or two afterward. Eusebius does not fix the 
date of the flight ; but speaks of the Christians removing from 
Jerusalem, in such a way as to make it easy to infer that they 
escaped the miseries of the war, and, consequently, that it 
must have been at an early period. His words are, {JB. 3, c. 
5,) " The whole body, however, of the church at Jerusalem, 
having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men 
of approved piety there before the war, removed from the 
city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called 
Pella. Here, those that believed in Christ, having removed 
from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abandoned the 
royal city itself, and the whole land of Judea," &c. 

Now, whatever may have been the signal, it is evident that 
it was something definite, easily and generally understood, 
and designed to arouse the believers to an instant flight from 
every part of the land, as well as from the capital city. Those 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



135 



upon the house-top were admonished not to delay long enough 
even to go down into the house to take anything away. 
There was such pressing haste that it would be hazardous to 
return from the field, to get the garment that could not be 
worn conveniently as they went forth to labor. This signal 
to begin the flight must have been some definite, suddenly, 
and distinctly appearing signal, which would instantaneously 
admonish them when the precise moment had come. There 
can be no mistake in this. But does this agree with the sup- 
positions above noticed, where the two excellent authors seem 
to find evidences that the signal and the flight occurred at 
various intervals during the war, even down so late as the 
flight of the multitude from Jericho, on the approach of Yes- 
pasianf Could a signal that was designed to excite such 
general and breathless haste, be of such a nature as to occur 
at intervals, and be several years in having its complete 
fulfillment? 

It is possible, after all, to throw some light upon this inter- 
esting subject. But, in doing so, the Scriptures must be our 
principal source of information. 

To know what the signal was, let it be observed, (1.) That 
it was " the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel 
the prophet, standing in the holy place, where it ought not. 7 ' 
And our Saviour himself* defines it to be in some way asso- 
ciated with " Jerusalem compassed with armies." By turning 
to the prophecy of Daniel, chapter ix. 26, we find what our 
Lord probably had in view : "And the people of the prince 
that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary ; and 
the end thereof shall be with a flood; and unto the end of 
the war desolations are determined. 27. And he shall con- 
firm the covenant with many for one week : and in the midst 
of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to 
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, he shall 
make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that de- 
termined shall be poured upon the desolate." In chapter xii. 
11, we have another reference to the same thing : "And from 

* See the Harmony, or the passage at the head of this chapter. 



136 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the 
abomination that maketh desolate set up," &c. 

Now, without the history of the fulfillment of what has 
already been accomplished, it would probably be very difficult 
to understand this prophecy to which Christ referred. And, 
even now, there are some expressions which we may not be 
able to comprehend. But, favored with a subsequent parallel 
prediction, and a subsequent history, we may safely conclude 
that the, " city and the sanctuary " that were to be destroyed, 
were Jerusalem and its temple. And, by " the people of the 
prince," we should understand the Romans. " The end there- 
of shall be with a flood ; and unto the end of the war desola- 
tions are determined," probably indicates that, at the beginning 
of the war, " the people of the prince " would come in com- 
paratively small numbers ; but, in " the end thereof," they 
would come in much greater numbers : they would overflow 
like a flood. "And unto the end of the war desolations are 
determined," seems to indicate that, from the small beginnings, 
there should continue to flow a full tide of desolations, until 
the whole land should be made desolate. " The daily sacrifice" 
was to be " taken away," and " the abomination of desolation 
set up." 

The first part of this prediction would of course be accom- 
plished, when the sanctuary was destroyed ; and the setting 
up of the abomination of desolation may refer to the planting 
of the idolatrous Roman ensigns in the courts of the temple, 
where Jehovah had recorded his name. But when was this 
accomplished ? There was a remarkable instance of the kind 
during the administration of Pontius Pilate, which occasioned 
a tremendous commotion among the Jews. See Josephus, 
Ant. B. 18, c. 3, s. 1. But this instance of setting up the 
abomination in the holy place occurred at too early a period 
to have been the one alluded to by Christ. Besides, it was 
not connected with the other circumstances which should 
attend the instance described by him. The most noted in- 
stance that happened subsequently, was, when Titus took and 
destroyed the lower city, and the holy house was burned. 
"And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 137 

the [upper] city, and upon the burning of the holy house 
itself, and of all the buildings round about it, brought their 
ensigns to the temple,* and set them over against the eastern 
gate ; and there they offered sacrifices to themP War, B. 6, 
c. 6, s. 1. 

Now this instance of setting up the abomination in the holy 
place, " where it ought not," occurred when the daily sacrifice 
was permanently taken away ; for the place of sacrificing was 
itself destroyed. But, notwithstanding, this could not have 
been the setting up of the abomination which the Lord had 
in view ; for it was now too late for the Christians either to 
avoid the war in the country, or the siege in the city, since 
the transaction took place at the close of the war. Were it not 
for this single consideration, the exact correspondency of this 
event with the prediction by Daniel, would render it quite 
certain that it was the precise period which Christ had in 
view, as the signal for the Christians' flight. 

These various considerations appear to make it almost cer- 
tain, that the disciples beheld the watched-for signal for begin- 
ning their flight, at the time that Cestius so unexpectedly 
retreated from the city. But it must be evident that our 
reasons for this conclusion are founded less in the manifesta- 
tion of the signal, as described by the Lord, than in the appro- 
priateness of the time. Those who venture to assert anything 
on this subject, ought not to be very positive ; and those who 
undertake to prove it by references to ancient history, under- 
take — as we have already shown — a very difficult thing. 

There are three considerations which render the common 
conviction in reference to the time of the flight quite probable 
— perhaps certain. 1. The retreat of Cestius happened at the 
right time for Christians to escape, so as to avoid the miseries 
of the war. When the invader fled from the city, there was 
no hindrance from without to prevent their escape. And 
when the Jewish warriors rushed out in pursuit, there was 
probably nothing within the city to prevent the escape. Per- 
haps this was the only moment during the whole war when 

* The walls, of course, were still standing. 



138 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

both the parties that might have prevented the flight, were 
situated so as to offer no impediment. 2. As this hasty re- 
treat and instant pursuit were wholly unlooked for by any of 
the people, and probably began in a moment of unaccountable 
panic on the part of the Romans, the Christians would very 
properly seize upon that instant to obey their Lord's direction, 
not knowing how soon the Romans, or the Jewish warriors, 
might return. And at that moment, probably, the gates were 
neither shut nor guarded. And this may satisfactorily account 
for the urgency and rapidity of the flight. And it may be ob- 
served, too, as an important circumstance, that the retreat of 
Cestius was down the north-western way to the coast, leaving 
unguarded the road by Jericho across the river, for the Chris- 
tians to escape to the mountains east of Jordan. 3. Something 
may be offered, likewise, in relation to one of the signs which 
were to apprise them when to flee to the hills : Jerusalem was 
to be encompassed with armies. True, it was not so at that 
moment; for if it had been, how could they have escaped? 
But then it had been surrounded ; and as soon as this part of 
the signal was fulfilled, the disciples probably understood that 
the time had arrived ; and they may have been seriously 
embarrassed with the impracticability of obeying the Lord's 
admonition. It is not unlikely that it became a subject of in- 
quiry, debate, and prayer. The signal was displayed ; the 
voice of the Lord seemed to sound in their ears, Escape to the 
mountains ; but how could they obey him ? " Jerusalem was 
compassed with armies :" the very signal to flee prevented 
their flight. To endeavor to desert to the Romans would in- 
sure death from the Jews ; and to try to escape in any other 
way would insure death from the Romans. Besides, supposing 
that the more courageous and athletic of the Christian men 
should succeed in spite of both Jew and Roman ; what would 
become of the women and children f "Would a Christian hus- 
band and father flee from danger and suffering, and leave his 
family without his presence and protection ? Did our Saviour 
give such direction to escape, and foresee no appropriate op- 
portunity ? " Stand still," O ye believing, watching, yet trem- 
bling saints, and " see the salvation of the Lord ! " The time 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 139 

of flight has come. Prepare your families for the escape. 
Understand among yourselves how and where to go. Post 
your sentinels upon the house-tops, and wait and listen for the 
moment to flee. All appearances are against you ; but the 
word of the Lord is sure : wait in readiness ; wait in faith. 
Hark ! do you hear that tumult ? Is it the battle cry of the 
Komans as they break into' the temple? Nay, verily: they 
retreat ! they retreat ! The Jews rush out in disorder after 
them ! They pause not to close the gates ! The highway to 
the hills is open ! Fly ! fly to the mountains ! Christian 
father, bear the youngest on your bosom ; lead the feeble by 
the hand : the God of the individual is the God of the family ; 
ye may all escape together. 

And it may be observed, furthermore, that " the abomina- 
tion that maketh desolate," if it referred to the ensigns of the 
Romans, was at that time seen to " stand in the holy place, 
where it ought not." For Cestius had just then succeeded in 
making his way to the very gates of the temple, and seemed 
on the very point of breaking in. And, if the symbols of 
idolatry were not set up within the very shadow of the sanc- 
tuary, at least the idolaters were there, and were battering the 
very gates that enclosed it. 

From this position of progress and success, the panic-struck 
besieger desisted and fled, to the surprise of the besieged, and 
to the pleasure and deliverance of the Christians. 

" Whoso readeth, let him understand." 

This parenthetic admonition was perhaps spoken by our 
Lord himself ; not with reference to the foreseen record of his 
own prophecy, but to the prophecy of Daniel, to which he 
had just referred. It is possible, however, that it was added 
by the evangelists Matthew and Mark, and referred to what 
they had just recorded. It is an unusual and remarkable 
addition to the discourse, whether spoken by Christ, or added 
by the historians. The wisdom of the advice, however, is 
quite evident ; for, plain as the matter may be deemed by 
some, the foregoing observations have probably proved that 
unusual attention must be given to the subject, in order to 



140 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

understand it. This is a principal reason for permitting it to 
occupy so many of these pages. 

" Then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." 
The ruin of the city, and the destruction of the temple, 
about which you inquire, will then be nigh at hand. The 
Jews may, indeed, obtain some immediate advantage over 
their enemies, and chase them away ; and the city may be 
delivered from the imminent danger. But it will be for a 
short time only ; for the desolation of the city is nigh at hand. 
The retreating Romans will soon return with a still mightier 
force, and overflow the land with desolation and death, as the 
prophet Daniel has foretold. Understand the prophecy, for it 
applies to this very thing ; and when you behold the signal 
which I give you, remember that the ruin winch he foretold, 
and which I foretel, is nigh at hand. 

" Then let them which he in Judeaflee into the mountains" 
Do not trust the appearance of the triumph which the Jews 
may gain over the Romans, and settle down, hoping not to be 
molested again. When the danger shall seem to be removed, 
and men shall rejoice, and anticipate an easy defence in fu- 
ture attacks, then do you improve the opportunity, and flee 
into the mountains. Not only flee from Jerusalem, but from 
every part of the country ; for the desolation that shall destroy 
the city, shall first deluge the whole land : every part shall be 
laid waste. Men may cry, Peace and safety ; but do not be 
deceived ; flee for your lives to the mountainous refuges, 
where the destroyer may not pursue you. 
"Let them which he in Judea" flee. 

As before observed, the signal which was to determine the 
flight from the city, was also designed to notify the whole 
country. And it may somewhat relieve the difficulty in de- 
termining when the specific signal appeared, by considering 
the fact, that it was not designed for the inhabitants of Jeru- 
salem only, but for those in every part of the land. To those 
living out of Jerusalem it would be a favorable time for flight, 
when the invading forces were concentrated about the capital. 
They would not then be likely to obstruct the flight of such 
as might endeavor to escape to places of safety. The intense 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 141 

interest which the Jews felt for their holy city raid temple, 
would lead them to watch with sleepless anxiety the progress 
and positions of the enemy. The fact of the siege of the city, 
and the success of the besiegers, would, in some way, be per- 
ceived or understood by the inhabitants in the vicinity ; and 
the reports of the case would fly with almost telegraphic des- 
patch to every part of the country. As soon, then, as it should 
become known that the invaders had settled down about the 
city, and planted their standards for a permanent encamp- 
ment, then the disciples in Judea must begin their flight. 
Then the Romans would not be in a situation to hinder them ; 
and the unbelieving Jews would be much interested and oc- 
cupied with the affairs of their beloved metropolis. Thus the 
signal for beginning the escape would answer for those in the 
country, as well as for those in the capital. There would be 
this difference, however: when Jerusalem was compassed 
with armies, it would indicate to those in the country that 
the time had come to begin their flight ; while, to the inhabi- 
tants of the city, it would indicate that the time had come, 
and that they must be every moment on the watch for the 
opportunity. This would tend to keep them constantly in 
readiness, so that the very moment the Jews rushed out after 
the retreating invaders, (supposing that the flight occurred at 
this time,) the Christians would perceive that the moment — 
the precise moment — had come, and would be in perfect 
readiness to improve it. 

[Luke : And let them which are in the midst of it depart out ; and let not 

THEM THAT ARE IN THE COUNTRIES ENTER THEREIN.] 

The connection of these sentences shows that they refer to 
the country more particularly than to the metropolis. How- 
ever safe the country may appear, when the Romans are con- 
centrated about Jerusalem, or when they are chased out of 
Judea, yet do not let those who may then be in the neighbor- 
ing countries venture to enter the ill-fated territory. There 
were many inducements which would be likely to draw the 
neighboring people into the dangerous region ; sucli as, (1.) 
The romantic, as well as religious, attachment which the peo- 



142 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

pie — both Jews and Christians — felt for the land of their 
fathers, and which tended always to draw them as frequently 
as possible to visit the land of promise. (2.) The great festi- 
vals which occurred with frequency, and which the Jews from 
all parts of the world naturally desired to attend, would — 
unless they were admonished of the danger — bring vast mul- 
titudes into the country. (3.) Perhaps, also, the scarcity of 
provisions resulting from the unsettled condition of the coun- 
try, might induce many to come thither for a market. (4.) 
Some of the great thoroughfares between the northern and 
southern countries led directly through Judea ; and, without 
previous warning, the people would be likely to continue 
their journeys through that country as they had been accus- 
tomed to do. (5.) And it is evident that there could be no 
sufficient occasion for Christians to enter Judea at that time, 
for the purpose of preaching the gospel .; for, first, The minds 
of the unbelieving Jews would not be favorably disposed, at 
such a time, for hearing and obeying the doctrines of Jesus. 
And, secondly, Cod had provided expressly for the publication 
of the gospel in that country, before it was proclaimed else- 
where ; and the day of especial privilege for that people would 
now be past. 

There would be two principal reasons for not coming into 
the country at that juncture, even should the invaders be 
driven away : They would soon return again with greatly in- 
creased numbers, to ravage and desolate the land. And, 
again, the moment they should be driven away, the Jews, in 
expectation of their return, would be everywhere occupied in 
organizing their armies, manufacturing armor, and fortifying 
their cities. And they would desire to press into these services 
every man they could lay hold of. And if the Christians did 
not escape before this juncture, it would be difficult for them 
to do so. That such were the facts in the case, is particularly 
shown in the second Appendix. 

Thus the two-fold admonition to those living within Judea. 
and those living without it, was equally important in both of 
its parts. And it should be borne in mind, that this prophecy 
of Christ soon became distributed, and was in the hands of 



HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 143 

Christians in all parts of the world ; so that these specific di- 
rections of our Saviour not only served to show his people 
how to shun the calamities of the war, by fleeing from the 
country, but also by keeping away, if they were not at the 
time residing there. 

Verne 17 : Let him which is on the house top not come down to take any 

THING OUT OF HIS HOUSE. 

We cannot, perhaps, perceive any reason for this breathless 
haste for those who dwelt in the country ; but it has already 
been shown that those in Jerusalem would be watching for 
the moment when to begin their flight. And nothing would 
be more natural than to be observing the progress of the siege 
from ihe house-tops. From that position they could witness 
the sudden retreat of Cestius, and the tumultuous rushing forth 
of the Jewish warriors in the pursuit. And, in the case of the 
Christians, there would be a necessity for this urgency, that 
would render it improper to delay even to go down into the 
house for the purpose of taking anything away. They would 
undoubtedly be clothed sufficiently to protect them in that 
season of the year ; and the less they carried, the more easy 
and expeditious their flight. Besides, as the house-tops gen- 
erally extended in almost unbroken connection, they could flee, 
without coming down, to the outer avenues and walls of the 
city. And they would be likely, probably, to meet with less 
interruption in their passage over the house-tops, than in the 
streets, which would be likely to be crowded at such a crisis, 
and less convenient for the flight. The counsel, not to take 
anything out of the house, to carry with them, possibly may 
not refer to articles of clothing, but to such valuables of other 
kinds as they might desire to carry with them. 

Ver.se 18. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his 

CLOTHES. •• 

It is difficult to conceive how this could apply to the inhabi- 
tants of Jerusalem, at this specific period ; but as the admo- 
nitions were equally addressed to those who would be residing 
in the country places, it is reasonable to suppose that it was 



144 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

intended for them, for at this time they would not be hindered 
by the invading army. 

In some places in the country they would still be quietly 
pursuing their ordinary labors in the field, not anticipating, 
perhaps, any immediate danger. Leaving, as was usual in 
such cases, their heavy outer garments at home, they would 
go into the fields to labor, having on only the more closely 
fitting raiment that would not encumber their motions. But 
they undoubtedly understood, and intended to obey, the admo- 
nition of the Lord, to flee for their lives at the appointed 
time ; and were only waiting to learn the precise period for 
beginning their flight. Not expecting it that day, they would 
go forth into the fields. 

But, while in the fields, the intelligence arrives that the 
Romans are encamped about Jerusalem; their ensigns are 
gleaming from Mount Scopus ; the legions are set in battle 
array. Sudden and unexpected as the intelligence may be, 
at that moment, yet those who believe the word of Christ 
understand that the moment has come to escape to the moun- 
tains. Dropping the implements of labor, they abandon all, 
and flee. We may suppose that those living in the vicinity 
of the metropolis, and can watch the progress of the invaders, 
first begin the flight. As they proceed through the country, 
they give the alarm to such as they happen to meet, until 
finally it becomes generally understood by the Christians, 
and there is a general escape. May we not also suppose, that, 
as they were expecting the signal about these times, though 
unable before hand to determine the hour or the day, they 
had made arrangements among themselves, by which they 
might all he duly notified f To suppose otherwise, would be 
supposing that the Christians of that day were without even 
common prudence and sagacity. Yet they were at this time 
regularly organized into societies, and had all appropriate 
officers and regulations for self-government and extension. 
Without greatly disparaging them, we cannot suppose they 
were either ignorant or heedless of so important a matter as 
this prediction and counsel of the Lord. To say nothing of 
piety, even the common principle of self-preservation would 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 145 

sufficiently prompt all who had confidence in the wisdom of 
their Lord. 

How would any intelligent association of people act in a 
case like this ? "Would they not carefully consider, and en- 
deavor to understand, the admonitions that were designed to 
preserve them? Would they not have an understanding 
among themselves, in relation to the manner of escaping, and 
the place of final rendezvous ? And as those who might be 
in the fields at the time to begin the flight, were warned not 
to return for their garments, can we suppose they were so 
destitute of both intelligence and affection, as not to have 
made provision for the escape of their families, and for a 
future assembling ? After making the time and the method 
of escape a matter of conference, reading, and (verse 20) 
prayer, as would be very natural, would they go to the fields 
to labor, with no certainty — and in case of hearing of the 
signal — with no permission, of returning, and yet have made 
no provision for the escape of the families at home ? Impos- 
sible. 

How could the Christian husband and father, in these cir- 
cumstances, go to his distant labor in the fields, and be so 
intent on making his own escape, as to leave his wife and 
little ones to perish at home? ~No doubt when the pious 
parent presented his family to the care of God in his morning 
worship, he made this subject one of the fervent themes of 
supplication ; and when he gave them his morning adieu, and 
went into the fields, he was assured, from previous arrange- 
ment, that if he should be obliged to begin his flight before 
returning home, he should greet his family again at the ap- 
pointed place of gathering. And why has not this subject 
been deemed worthy of a place among the multitudinous 
themes of our commentaries? A little light shed upon a 
matter of this kind is more congenial to the pious heart, and 
more favorable to the reputation of primitive Christianity, 
than many volumes of merely critical speculations, and the 
usual horrible details of corruption, carnage, and death. 

Are we attentive enough to what some may call the little 
things of history — the minuter developments of sanctified 
10 



146 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

humanity ? Is not our knowledge usually too much addressed 
to the head, and too little to the heart f And may not this be 
affirmed too generally of our standard biblical literature? 
Does it not tend more to make us merely learned, and criti- 
cal, than affectionate, humble, and holy ? 

This is the author's apology for deviating from the beaten 
track of Scripture exegesis in so many instances ; and for 
endeavoring to make the heart of exegetical theology pulsate 
with a common feeling, and its countenance glow with a 
familiar experience. 

[Luke : For these be the days of vengeance, that all things "wthch abb 

"WRITTEN MAY BE FULFILLED.] 

In many things the prophecy of Christ was strictly original ; 
but in respect to some things he merely affirmed what had 
been uttered by the more ancient prophets. We have noticed 
his reference to a part of the predictions of Daniel ; and now 
we have a more general allusion to the whole course of ancient 
prophecy. Much of the prophecy of Moses, and several 
other of the principal prophets, appears to point to the deso- 
lation of the Jewish nation and country ; and therefore our 
Lord distinctly identifies the calamities of which he was dis- 
coursing with those which had been predicted by others. 

" These he the days of vengeance." 

There had been other days of vengeance, when wrath was 
poured out with severity upon the Jewish people. But the 
time of which the Lord was now speaking, was " the days of 
vengeance." These days of vengeance differed from the for- 
mer in three particulars: 1. The vengeance was more severe. 
2. It was of longer continuance ; so much so, that it was to 
last until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in ; thus 
extending through many centuries, and reaching forward even 
beyond the present time. 3. And let it be observed particu- 
larly, these days of vengeance of which he was then speaking, 
were to continue until "all things which are wbitten may 

BE FULFILLED." 

To notice this appropriately is of vast importance to a true 
exposition of this discourse. The Koman war, and even the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 147 

fatal siege, were but the commencement of those predicted 
days of vengeance. He who ventures to limit our Lord's 
prediction to the term of a few years, already long since past, 
assumes a responsibility which the author dare not covet. 
Popular, or unpopular, hazardous, or unhazardous, the author 
of this Treatise is fully determined to " speak as the oracles 
of God." If Moses, or Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel, or 
Daniel, or any other of the prophets, has written of calami- 
ties which the Jews yet suffer, or are yet to endure, as a 
people, then let it he distinctly understood, and remembered 
for future use, that those afore predicted afflictions were 

INCLUDED BY OUR LORD WITHIN THOSE DAYS OF VENGEANCE WHICH 

began with the Roman war. And our Lord distinctly 
affirms that the days of vengeance of which he was speaking, 
were to last " untll all things which are written may be 
fulfilled." Header, do not forget this : it will have much 
to do with several portions of the Exposition. 

Now, as a specimen of what has been written by the 
prophets, read attentively Deuteronomy from the beginning 
of the twenty-eighth chapter. Much of it still continues 
unfulfilled ; and will not be accomplished until the final res- 
toration of Israel to their father-land, and their father's God. 

It should be observed, however, that Christ was not now 
describing the events of this long continued period of ven- 
geance ; but he was now simply stating what he more par- 
ticularly affirms in the 24th verse, that the days of vengeance 
which should begin as he predicted, would continue for a 
long time, until all the prophecies concerning them had been 
fulfilled. But the inquiries of the disciples, and the conse- 
quent design of the discourse, led him to speak with especial 
reference to that part of those days of vengeance in which 
Jerusalem should be destroyed. 

Verse 19. And wo unto them that are with child, and to them that givb 
BUCK in those days ! 

Not during the whole period of the days of vengeance, 
lasting, as we have seen, until the fulfillment of all that had 
been written ; but during the time of which he was then 



148 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

particularly speaking, in order to adapt his discourse to the 
object he then had in view. For reasons too evident to be 
enlarged upon, the women who might be in the condition he 
describes, would be subject to peculiar dangers and sufferings. 
They would neither be in a condition to escape the calamities 
of the war, nor to endure them. 

Then would be affeetingly fulfilled Christ's own prediction 
to the women of Jerusalem, as they wept and lamented over 
him, as he was led along through the streets to the cross : 
Lu. xxiii. 28. " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, 
but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, 
the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are 
the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps 
which never gave suck." Josephus relates some instances of 
the suffering of women and children, which are too horrible 
to be repeated without necessity. 

Verse 20. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on 
the Sabbath day. 

As there is no probability whatever that the flight of the 
Christians occurred so late as the siege of Jerusalem by Ti- 
tus ; nor during the conduct of the war by Yespasian, w T hen 
Jerusalem was not "compassed with armies;" as all the 
probabilities of the case point to the invasion and siege by 
Cestius, at the beginning of the war ; there can be no pro- 
priety in diverting attention from the point in question, by 
showing that the approach of Yespasian, and the final siege 
by Titus, were not in the winter. It is sufficient to show that 
Cestius besieged the city when the Jews were celebrating the 
feast of Tabernacles, which was in the most pleasant part of 
the year. It was on the 30th day of Tisri that Cestius brought 
his army into the lower city. Tisri answers to the latter part 
of our September and the first part of October. This would 
be the date for beginning the flight from the country. It was 
eight or nine days after this that Cestius fled from the city. 
This was undoubtedly the time of flight from Jerusalem. A 
more favorable season of the year could not have been 
selected. Perhaps it is not susceptible of historical proof 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 149 

that the flight was not on the Sabbath. . But there is sufficient 
moral proof that the prayers of the disciples were answered, 
as well with respect to the time of the week, as to the season 
of the year. 

It would have been unfortunate for them to begin their 
flight on the Sabbath ; for, (1.) The conscience of many would 
have been troubled on account of the strictness with which 
they had been taught to observe the Sabbath day. And, 2. 
It is certain that the Jews would have regarded their Sabbath 
traveling with offence ; and with increased prejudice against 
the religion of the disciples. And, likewise, (3.) The gates of 
the cities and villages would be closed on that day, and en- 
trance into them, or escape from them, would be difficult. 
Besides, (4.) If the Jews should be disposed to hinder their 
flight from the country, they would — by their Sabbath trav- 
eling — be much more likely to be suspected of fleeing away, 
because all ordinary travel on that day was generally sus- 
pended. 

The Jews of Jerusalem, however, as we learn from Jose- 
phus, ( War, B. 2. c. 19,) were almost disregardful of the 
Sabbath day, so generally and so deeply had they sunk in 
moral degradation. 

Mr. Watson has a good thought concerning this praying 
about the day of their flight : " And were the march of Bo- 
man armies, and the decisions* of Boman councils, to be 
interfered with in answer to the prayers of a few poor Chris- 
tians % Let philosophy scoff ; but let faith adore ; so it was." 
Prayer has much more to do with the destiny of nations and 
man, than unbelievers are willing to acknowledge, or even 
Christians have power to comprehend. It was well, then, for 
the disciples to pray that their flight might neither be in the 
winter, nor on the Sabbath day. 

Verse 21. For then shall be great tribulation \LuTce: in the land, and 

WRATH UPON THIS PEOPLE,] SUCH AS WAS NOT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO 
THIS TIME, NO, NOR EVER SHALL BE. 

Some are disposed to consider this language hyperbolical ; 
but we should beware how we charge our Lord with exaggera- 



150 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

tion. Mr. "Watson observes, " This is not a hyperbolical 
expression ; for no one can read the narrative of the Jew Jo- 
sephus, without acknowledging that this national calamity 
has no parallel. This narrative appears to have been written 
and preserved under a special providence, of which Josephus 
himself was unconscious, that future times, in the testimony 
of an eye-witness, and he not a Christian, might have a full 
and unexpected proof of the exact accomplishment of the 
words of Christ." 

Josephus himself says, ( War, Pref. s. 4.) " Accordingly, it 
appears to me, that the misfortunes of all men, from the 
beginning of the world, if they be compared to these of the 
Jews, are not so considerable as they were." 

Some idea of the unparalleled sufferings and desolations of 
those troublous times, may be obtained by considering merely 
the statistics of the deaths that occurred, and of the captives 
that were taken, during the war. Bishop Newton, refering 
in each instance to Josephus, gives a general summary of the 
carnage and captivity of the war. " Of those who perished 
during the whole siege, [of Jerusalem,] there were, as Jose- 
phus says, 1,100,000. Many were also slain at other times 
and in other places. By the command of Floras, who was 
the first author of the war, there were slain at Jerusalem 
3,600. By the inhabitants of Cesarea above 20,000. At 
Scythopolis above 13,000 ; at Ascalon, 2,500 ; at Ptolemais, 
2,000 ; at Alexandria, under Tiberius Alexander the presi- 
dent, 50,000 ; at Joppa, when it was taken by Cestius Gallus, 
8,400 ; in a mountain called Asamon, near Sepphoris, above 
2,000 ; at Damascus, 10,000 ; in a battle with the Romans at 
Ascalon, 10,000 ; in an ambuscade near the same place, 8,000 ; 
at Japha, 15,000 ; of the Samaritans upon Mount Gerizim, 
11,600 ; at Jotapata, 40,000 ; at Joppa, when taken by Ves- 
pasian, 4,200 ; at Tarichea, 6,500 ; after the city was taken, 
1,200 ; at Gamala, 4,000 slain ; besides 5,000 who threw 
themselves down a precipice ; of those who fled with John 
of Gishcala, 6,000 ; of the Gadarenes, 15,000 slain, besides 
an infinite number drowned ; in the villages of Idumea, above 
10,000 slain ; at Gerasa, 1,000 ; at Macherus, 1,700 ; in the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 151 

wood of Jardes, 3,000 ; in the castle of Masada, 960 ; in 
Cyrene by Catullus the governor, 3,000. Besides these, many 
of every age, sex, and condition, were slain in the war, who 
were not reckoned ; but of these who are reckoned, the num- 
ber amounts to above 1,357,660 ; which would appear almost 
incredible, if their own historian had not so particularly enu- 
merated them. But besides the Jews who ' fell by the edge 
of the sword,' others were also to be ' led captive into all 
nations;' and considering the number of the slain, the num- 
ber of the captives too was very great. There were taken 
particularly at Japha, 2,130 ; at Jotapata, 1,200 ; at Tarichea, 
6,000 chosen young men were sent to Nero, the rest sold to the 
number of 30,400 ; besides those who were given to Agrippa; 
of the Gadareness, 2,200 ; in Idumea above 1,000. 

" Many besides these were taken at Jerusalem, so that, as 
Josephus himself informs us, the number of the captives 
taken in the whole war amounted to 97,000 ; the tall and 
handsome young men Titus reserved for his triumph ; of the 
rest, those above seventeen years of age were sent to the 
works in Egypt ; but most were distributed through the Ro- 
man provinces, to be destroyed in their theatres by the sword 
or by wild beasts ; those under seventeen were sold for slaves. 

" Of the captives many underwent hard fate. 11,000 of 
them perished for want. Titus exhibited all sorts of shows 
and spectacles at Cesarea, and many of the captives were 
there destroyed, some being exposed to the wild beasts, and 
others compelled to fight in trooj>s against one another. At 
Cesarea, too, in honor of his brother's birth-day, 2,500 Jews 
were slain ; and a great number likewise at Berytus in honor 
of his father's. The like was done in other cities of Syria. 
Those whom he reserved for his triumph were Simon and 
John, the generals of the captives, and seven hundred others 
of remarkable stature and beauty. Thus were the Jews mis- 
erably tormented, and distributed over the Eoman provinces ; 
and are they not still distressed and dispersed over all the 
nations of the earth ? " {Newton on the Prophecies, p. 365.) 

Of their sufferings from continual alarms, from fatal accidents 
and diseases, from terrible famine, from ghastly wounds, from 



152 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

cold, heat, weariness and bereavement, it is impossible to 
express or imagine. Josephus is not the only source of infor- 
mation ; but he is every way sufficient to show the literal 
an 1 minute fulfillment of our Lord's most extraordinary pre- 
diction. 

Verse 22. And except those days should be shortened, there should no 

FLESH BE SAVED; BUT FOR THE ELECT'S SAKE, [ Mark .' WHOM HE HATH CHOSEN,] THOSE 
DAYS SHALL BE SHORTENED. 

But who are the elect, for whose sake those days should be 
shortened ? Probably the same as in verse 24. The general 
impression that it refers to the Christian Jews, is most likely 
to be correct. God did not intend to make a full end of that 
race of people ; they have yet an important part to accom- 
plish in the great purposes of Divine Wisdom. But so gen- 
eral and terrible was the destruction that was brought upon 
them, that they might well have exclaimed, (Isa. i. 9,) ''Ex- 
cept the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, 
we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been 
like unto Gomorrah." That is, they would have been so 
totally overthrown as to leave none of them alive. From the 
beginning God determined not to suffer them to be utterly 
destroyed. He would have a portion in Jacob. The idea of 
a chosen remnant being preserved was familiar to the Jewish 
mind. Moses in his wonderful prophetic discourse and song, 
beginning in the twenty-eighth chap, of Deut., very distinctly 
describes the general and long-lasting desolation of the Jew- 
ish people ; but he just as distinctly affirmed the perpetual 
continuance of the race. By the prophet Isaiah, chap. x. 
they were likened to a forest of innumerable trees. Whereas, 
in their desolation, they should be thinned out until but a few 
were left. Yerse 19. " And the rest of the trees of the forest 
shall be few, that a child may write them. 20. And it shall 
come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such 
as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again 
stay upon him that smote them ; but shall stay upon the 
Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21. The remnant 
shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 153 

God. 22. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of 
the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return." 

The same idea of preserving a chosen remnant, is promi- 
nent also in chap. lxv. verse 8. " Thus saith the Lord, As the 
new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it 
not, for a blessing is in it ; so will I do for my servant's sake, 
that I may not destroy them all. Verse 9. And I will bring 
forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of 
my mountains / and mine elect shall inherit it, and my ser- 
vants shall dwell there." 

By Jeremiah, in several places, the same idea of preserv- 
ing a remnant is set forth, as, e. g. in chap. v. verse 10. " Go 
ye up upon her walls, and destroy ; but make not a full end." 
Verse 18. "Nevertheless, in those days, saith the Lord, I will 
not make a full end of you." In chap. xxx. verse 11, 
we find the same idea : " For I am with thee, saith the 
Lord, to save thee : though I make a full end of all nations 
whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end 
of thee." 

So in Amos, chap. ix. verse 8. " Behold, the eyes of the 
Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it 
from off the face of the earth ; saving that I will not utterly 
destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord." St. Paul, in 
Rom., chap, xi., speaks also with particular reference to a 
chosen remnant which God preserved for himself: verse 5. 
"Even so, at this present time, there is a remnant according 
to the election of grace." Verse 7. " Israel [in the general] 
hath not obtained that which he seeketh for ; but the election 
hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded." 

These, undoubtedly, were the elect for whose sake the days 
of desolation, of which Christ was then particularly speaking, 
were shortened. They were preserved because they believed 
in Christ, and obeyed his admonitions. God, in fulfillment of 
many promises, saved them by special interposition. But 
even this chosen and preserved part of that unhappy people 
were not saved from the inconveniences and dangers of that 
period of tribulation-. Their hasty- flight- into the mountain- 
ous regions did indeed save them from the destruction that 



154 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

befel those who remained in Judea ; but did it provide for 
them abodes of comfort and permanency in the places to 
which they fled ? 

Was it not especially for their sakes, as exiles from their 
native soil, that those days should be shortened, lest, after 
having escaped one form of destruction, they should perish 
by another ? And the shortening of those days was also 
necessary on account, also, of those who, by reason of age, 
infirmity, or other hindrances, could not escape from the 
ravages of the war. Some who were not previously converted 
were undoubtedly preserved, and became believers after the 
war had past. We should not limit the elect to those who 
were at that time believers, for several reasons : (1.) It is a 
fact that many others were preserved through the whole war. 
(2.) Many of those who were thus preserved were afterwards, 
probably, converted to the true faith. (3.) The elect, and the 
remnant which are so frequently spoken of in the Scriptures, 
have, it is likely, usually included a portion of such as were 
not, at the time, true believers. It is so at present ; it has 
been so from the first ; and it is to such that the promise of 
the renewing Spirit is given. See Ezek. xxxvi. 21-38, and 
similar passages. 

That there might not be an utter extermination of even the 
unconverted Jews; but that some might be preserved for 
future conversion, and to be parents of subsequent converts, 
those days of special suffering were providentially shortened. 

It is, perhaps, less evident that those who escaped from the 
country, stood in need of having the time of distress shortened, 
as much as those who remained during the war. 

" Those days should be shortened" 

Yet several years were spent in completing the terrible 
devastation that was begun by Oestius Gallus. The last siege 
of Jerusalem continued only a few months. And it was so 
strongly fortified, and so desperately defended, that even the 
conquerors were constrained to acknowledge that God had 
fought for them. In view of the strength of the walls and 
towers, Titus himself exclaimed, ""We have fought with God 
on- our side ; and it is- God; who bath pulled 7 the Jews ^SfaS of 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 155 

these strong holds ; for what could the hands of men or ma- 
chines do against these towers ? " The internal dissensions 
and slaughter among the Jews themselves contributed not a 
little to hasten the final catastrophe. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Prmctpal subjects — False Christs and False Prophets. 

Renewed appearance of Impostors — Why so successful — Two-fold Caution 
— Simon Magus — Menander, his Successor — Claims to be Jesus Christ — 
Character of the Signs and Wonders wrought by the Impostors — Why the 
Jews, who were imposed upon by false Miracles, did not credit the true — 
Illustration from modern Infidelity — Modern Wonder-workers — Deceiving 
the Elect — Import of the phrase, "If it be possible" — Facts in the case — 
Origin and Names of the principal Heresies during the Primitive Times — 
Origin of the False Christs and False Prophets — Two ways in which they 
appeared — Why Christ was expected in "the Secret Chambers" — Use of 
Josephus' History. 

Verse 23. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there ; 

BELIEVE IT NOT. 

This should not be regarded as a mere repetition of what was 
said at the beginning of the discourse ; but as a warning 
against false Christs and false prophets, who would make their 
appearance at the precise time of which the Lord was now 
speaking : they would come during the terrible siege of Jeru- 
salem. 

The Jews did not believe that God would abandon them to 
their enemies. They were constantly looking for some divine 
interposition, by which they should be delivered. And it 
seems to have been generally understood among them, that, 
according to the prophecies, it was time for Messiah to come. 
Hence, they were easily imposed upon by the impostors who 
appeared in their midst. As their calamities increased, and 
utter destruction threatened them, their hope of Messiah's 



156 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

appearing seemed to increase, and, as it were, concentrate 
itself within the limited space which seemed to intervene be- 
tween them and total destruction. They expected a deliverer 
who should perform miracles, and exhibit astonishing signs 
among them. 

The impostors would not fail to adapt themselves to the 
expectations of the people ; and would come claiming to be 
Christ, and working, or appearing to work, miracles. 

Our Saviour gives this additional caution, to put his disci- 
ples on their guard against plausible and successful impos- 
tures. If they say, Lo, here is Christ, believe it not. If any 
who may associate with the impostors, shall endeavor to per- 
suade you to join with them, do not be deceived : remember 
that you have been forewarned of this very thing. Or if they 
shall point to the pretenders, and say, There is Christ, and try 
to persuade you to go after them, do not be deceived : others 
will run after them, but be you constantly guarded against 
them. 

Verse 24. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and 

SHALL SHOW GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS. 

This did actually occur. ^Notwithstanding the disappoint- 
ments and calamities that were occasioned by former impos- 
tors, the Jews would not abandon their expectation of a deliv- 
erer ; and a succession of deceivers continued to impose upon 
them. 

At an earlier period than Christ was now speaking of, there 
appeared Simon Magus, who is referred to in Acts viii., 9-11. 
Eusebius, B. 3, c. 26, describes another : " M enander, who 
succeeded Simon Magus, exhibited himself an instrument of 
diabolical wickedness, not inferior to the former. He also 
was a Samaritan ; and having made no less progress in his 
impostures than his master, reveled in still more arrogant pre- 
tensions to miracles, saying that he was in truth the Saviour, 
once sent from the invisible world for the salvation of men." 

Several impostors are mentioned by Josephus, and will be re- 
ferred to in -connection with a following: verse. 

"And shall show great signs and wonders" 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. .61 

The comment on this prediction by Watson is worfc! , of 
notice : 

" What these were, we have now no means of judging ; 
whether deceptions, or the result, to a certain extent, of a per- 
mitted supernatural agency. 

" From the detected character of popish ' signs and won- 
ders,' which bear so strong a resemblance to those of Jewish 
and pagan miracles, we may conclude it probable that they 
were impostures and 'lying wonders,' but artfully contrived 
by the more skillful to mislead the ignorant mass, prepared 
for delusion by that gross superstition and belief in magic 
which prevailed among them. Simon Magus bewitched the 
people with his i sorceries,' and Josephus calls the false proph- 
ets who appeared at this time among the Jews, magoi and 
goetes, magicians and sorcerers. 

"As to amulets, charms, sorceries, and enchantments, the 
Jews of that age were notoriously credulous ; and as incred- 
ulous as to the real miracles of our Lord and his apostles. 

" The truth of these miracles obtains from this a stronger 
evidence, and the unbelief of the Jews a moral solution. By 
a credulous people, they must have been admitted as demon- 
strative of the doctrines in confirmation of which they were 
wrought ; but they hated the doctrine itself, and this passion 
overpowered every mental habit, and changed, as to those 
glorious evidences of pure and holy truth, the whole charac- 
ter of their minds. Nor is this without a parallel. The cre- 
DULrrY of lneidelity in our own age has often been remarked ; 
and it is exemplified in the readiness with which both those 
who entirely reject the Holy Scriptures, and the critics who 
would explain away their supernatural character, admit the 
most absurd theories in opposition to them, and the deceived 
confidence with which they teach them to others." 

In all ages, there have been those who have wrought aston- 
ishing wonders. Our own times are not without the wonder- 
workers, whose doings form the topic of private gossip and 
public reports. By mysterious and little understood natural 
laws, by which one person may affect another, and by which 
even inanimate things may, to some extent, be affected ; and 



158 HARMOXY AKD EXPOSITION. 

also by permitted diabolical agency, such as is frequently allu- 
ded to in the Scriptures, those impostures may have been 
really astounding, and well calculated to deceive the super- 
stitious and credulous Jews. 

Verse 24, (last part) Iksomuch that, dtt were possible, they shall deceive 

THR VERT ELECT. 

The note of "Whitby is quite appropriate and satisfactory, 
with respect to the phrase, " if it were possible :" 

" First. That the phrase ej tfuvcwov, 'if it be possible,' or, 'if 
it may be,' doth not denote an absolute impossibility, but 
only a great difficulty in the performance of an act possible. 
So Acts xx. 16. ' Paul hastened si fawriv ofcw-u, if it were pos- 
sible for him, to be at Jerusalem before Pentecost ;' and yet 
sure he made not all this haste to do what was impossible. 
The apostle commands, g< fovcwov, 'If it be possible, as much 
as lieth in you, have peace with all men ;' (Rom. xii. 18,) and 
yet doth not he exhort us to use our utmost endeavors to do 
what was impossible. Ei fovarov, ' If it be possible, let this cup 
pass from me,' saith Christ, (Matt. xxvi. 49,) and yet he adds, 
' all things are possible to thee, O Father,' (Mark xiv. 35,) and 
hence the phrase is changed by St. Luke into si /3o£Xsi, ' if 
thou wilt.' 

" Now, that the deceiving of Christians in those times of 
miraculous endowment was very difficult, is evident from that 
speech concerning a thing hardly feasible, Oarrov ng rovs cko 
XpKfrcv [xsTadtdajzeig, ' Sooner may a Christian be turned from 
Christ.' 

" Secondly. This phrase imports, not what the event would 
be upon the elect, but the vehemence of the endeavors of the 
seducers, that they would do the utmost that they could pos- 
sible to shock the Christian, and seduce him from his stead- 
fastness, as is evident from the words of St. Mark, xiii. 22, 
' They will show signs and wonders, *pog r6 d?rwXavav, el (Juvarov, 
to deceive, if they are able, the elect.' 

" Now, to say such a one will do you mischief, if he can, 
or if he be able, is surely no security that he can do you none. 

"And, Thirdly. Should this phrase respect the event, it may 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 159 

do it not absolutely, but only with relation to the means 
here mentioned ; i. e. ' they shall show great signs and won- 
ders,' which shall prevail to seduce Jews, heathens, and Sa- 
maritans, and even Christians, were it possible for impostors 
by lying signs and wonders to deceive them, who are invest- 
ed with the power of making true and greater signs and 
wonders by the assistance of the Holy Ghost, and will attend 
to the things wrought among them or by them." 

Much more of the same import may be found by consult- 
ing Whitby's annotations on the text under notice. This part 
of his argument has been adopted, as containing the substance 
of about all the logic which the passage has called forth. 
There are now before the writer a variety of commentaries, 
in all of which this passage is brought under notice. But 
strange as it may be, not one of them undertakes to settle the 
matter by referring to facts. Yet, there are historical eviden- 
ces which ought to be deemed sufficient to settle the point in 
question. 

St. Paul says, 1 Tim. iv. 1, " Now the Spirit speaketh ex- 
pressly, that in the latter time, some shall depart from the 
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 
2 Tim. ii. 17. "And their word will eat as doth a canker : of 
whom is Hymeneus and Philetus : 18. "Who concerning the 
truth, have erred, saying the resurrection is passed already ; 
and overthrow the faith of some." 2 Tim. i. 15. " This thou 
knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from 
me ; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes." Rev. ii. 20. 
" Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, be- 
cause thou sufferest that woman, Jezebel, which calleth her- 
self a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants to com- 
mit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols." 2 
Cor. xi. 3. " But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent be- 
guiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be cor- 
rupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."* 

In the various schisms and corruptions which crept into the 
church during the latter part of the apostolic age, there is 

'■-"'■ *See Note C, in the "Appendix 



160 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

every reason to believe that many real believers in Christ 
were turned away from the faith, and gave heed unto fables. 

Eusebius' Eccl. Hist. B. 4, c. 22, contains an extract from 
Hegesippus, a Christian divine, who was born in the begin- 
ning of the second century. He treats of the introduction 
of heresies in the church, and of the origin of false Christs, 
and false prophets. " But after James the Just had suffered 
martyrdom, as our Lord had, for the same reason, Simeon, the 
son of Cleophas, our Lord's uncle, was appointed the second 
bishop, whom all proposed, as the cousin of our Lord. Hence 
they called the church as yet a virgin, for it was not yet cor- 
rupted by vain discourses. Thebuthis made a beginning se- 
cretly to corrupt it, on account of his not being made bishop. 
He was one of those seven sects among the Jewish people. 

" Of these also was Simeon, whence sprung the sect 
of the Simonians ; also, Cleobius, from whence came the 
Cleobians; also Dositheus, the founder of the Dositheans. 
From these, also, sprung the Gortheonians, from Gortheus, 
and the Masboteans, from Masbotheus. Hence, also, the 
Menandrians, and Marcionists, and Carpocratians, and Yal- 
entinians, and Basilidians, and the Saturnilians, every one 
introducing his own peculiar opinions, one differing from 
another. From these sprung the false Christs and false proph- 
ets, and false apostles, who divided the unity of the church, 
by the introduction of corrupt doctrines against God, and 
against Christ." 

Euseb. B. 4, c. 7, speaking of Satan's efforts to corrupt the 
church, observes, " He employed the agency of wicked im- 
postors and deceivers, as certain abandoned instruments and 
ministers of destruction. Intent upon every course, he insti- 
gated these insidious impostors and deceivers, by assuming 
the same name with us (Christians) to lead those believers 
whom they happened to seduce to the depths of destruction, 
and by their presumption, also turn those that were igno- 
rant of the faith, from the path that led to the saving truth 
of God." 

Perhaps it may appear to some that all this testimony, 
which, after all, is but a specimen of what might be exhibit- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 161 

ed, does not prove that any of the true believers were de- 
ceived, and turned from the gospel faith. But it must result 
from extreme unwillingness to believe what this array of ev- 
idences is designed to prove. 

It may, indeed, be objected, that the false Christs, and false 
prophets here spoken of, were not those to which Christ par- 
ticularly referred. The objection is, to a degree, perhaps, 
founded in truth. But these false teachers were those who 
began to corrupt the church, previously to the time of which 
Christ was speaking, and they continued until after that time. 
There is sufficient reason for believing that some of them were 
among the very ones that Christ particularly referred to. 

It may be objected still further, that those who were de- 
ceived and corrupted were not, after all, real believers. But 
the objection is directly opposed to all the appearances and 
historical teachings in the case. Indeed, does it not flatly 
contradict the express declarations of the inspired word ? 

It may be still further objected, that those of whom these 
quotations speak, as having been deceived, were not the elect 
of whom Christ was speaking. But is this anything more 
than a mere assumption, without a particle of proof? All 
the probabilities in the case are against the assumption. Be- 
sides, nothing can be gained for the doctrine which the objec- 
tion is designed to defend, by admitting that true believers of 
one period may be deceived, but not those of another period. 

[Mark: But take ye heed;] Verse 25. Behold, I have told you before. 

"jBut take ye heed." 

Be always on your guard against these impostors, for they 
will come among you, even occupying the highest places in 
the church, and many shall be seduced by them, and shall 
follow their pernicious ways. Take heed for yourselves, and 
also for the flock over which you may be overseers. Be at 
all times on the alert, that you may detect and expose the 
wolves in sheeps' clothing, not sparing the flock in the fold. 

How vigilant and faithful the apostles were, in respect to 
these things, we may easily understand, by examining the 
writings and histories of Paul, Peter, Jude, and John. 
11 



162 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

The Lord knew beforehand what they were destined to wit- 
ness and endure ; and, as far as possible, prepared them for 
the watch-care and government of the church. This admoni- 
tion was necessary at all times, and especially necessary for 
the particular time which Christ had then in view. 

"Behold, I have told you before." 

Not only of the fact that such impostors will appear ; but 
also the particular manner in which they will appear, and how 
they will succeed in their wicked devices. Let the fact that 
I have distinctly informed you of these things, so long before 
they come to pass, be an additional evidence to you of my 
Messiahship, when the false Christs and false prophets shall 
call it in question. And be ready, at all times, to expose 
these impostors, by the signs which I have given you. 

Verse 26. Wherefore, if they shall sat unto you, Behold, he is in the 

DESERT, GO NOT FORTH ; BEHOLD, HE IS LN THE SECRET CHAMBERS ; BELIEVE IT NOT. 

In some instances the impostors would appear openly in 
public places. Then the procedure would be, " Lo, here is 
Christ, or lo there !" This would be the first method, and, 
therefore, it is first described. But they will also proceed in 
another manner : they will try to induce you to go into the 
desert. 

Josephus, Ant., B. 20, c. 8, s. 5, 6, thus refers to this very meth- 
od of procedure : "And now these impostors and deceivers per- 
suaded the multitude to follow them into the wilderness, and 
pretended that they would exhibit manifest wonders and 
signs, that should be performed by the providence of God. 
And many that were prevailed on by them suffered the pun- 
ishment of their folly ; for Felix brought them back, and then 
punished them. Moreover, there came out of Egypt about 
this time to Jerusalem, one that said he was a prophet, and 
advised the multitude of the common people to go along with 
him to the Mount of Olives. ... He said, further, that 
he would show them from hence how, at his command, the 
walls of Jerusalem would fall down ; and he promised them 
that he would procure them an entrance into the city through 
those walls, when they were fallen down." 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 163 

War, B. 2, c. 13, s. 4. " There was also another body of 
wicked men gotten together, not so impure in their actions, 
but more wicked in their intentions, which laid waste the 
happy state of the city no less than did these murderers. 
These men were such as deceived and deluded the people, 
under pretence of divine inspiration ; but were for procuring 
innovations and changes in the government ; and these pre- 
vailed with the multitude to act like madmen, and went be- 
fore them into the wilderness, as pretending that God would 
show them there the signals of liberty." 

We learn from the next section, that the Egyptian false 
prophet before mentioned, so prospered in his imposture, that 
" thirty thousand men were deluded by him. These he led 
round about from the wilderness [where he first induced them 
to go] to the mount which is called the Mount of Olives, 
and was ready to break into Jerusalem by force from that 
place." 

War, B. 7, c. 11, s. 1, gives an account of a weaver, by the 
name of Jonathan, who " prevailed with no small number of 
the poorer sort to give ear to him. He also led them into the 
desert, upon promising them that he would show them signs 
and apparitions." 

How wonderfully distinct and particular was the Saviour's 
prophecy, both in respect to the events that should occur, and 
also with respect to the circumstances and succession ! How 
very appropriate and necessary the admonition, not to go into 
the desert ! 

"Behold, he is in the secret chambers ; believe it not? 

The temple had many secret chambers ; and it was not un- 
natural for these credulous rejectors of the true Christ, to sup- 
pose that the Messiah might have come, and might be hidden 
in the inner recesses of the holy house. They had been de- 
ceived in all those who had led the multitudes into the desert, 
as well as in those who had exhibited themselves publicly in 
their streets. Now, besieged in their capital, with destruc- 
tion just ready to come upon them, if the still expected de- 
liverer appeared, he would be likely to issue from the inner 



164 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

chambers of the temple itself. Here, again, the Jewish his- 
torian, without intending any encouragement to Christianity, 
gives a distinct narrative of the fulfillment of this part of this 
most minute prophecy. War, B. 6, c. 5 s. 2. 

Speaking of several thousands of men, women, and chil- 
dren, who were destroyed in consequence of their being in- 
duced to seek refuge in the temple, he observes, — "A false 
prophet was the occasion of these people's destruction, who 
had made a public proclamation in the city that very day, 
that God commanded them to get up upon the temple, and 
there they should receive miraculous signs of their deliver- 
ance. ISTow, there was then a great number of false prophets 
suborned by the [Jewish] tyrants to impose on the people, 
who denounced this to them, that they should wait for deliv- 
erance from God ; this was to keep them from deserting, and 
that they might be buoyed up above fear and care by such 
hopes. Now, a man that is in adversity, does easily comply 
with such promises ; for when a seducer makes him believe 
that he shall be delivered from those miseries that oppress 
him, then it is that the patient is full of hopes of such deliv- 
erance." 

How perfectly the discourse of Christ observes the chrono- 
logic order of events ! Nothing less than Omniscience could 
have foreseen the precise succession of the multitude of items 
which make up the body of the prophecy. 

And, in respect to the confirmatory history of the accom- 
plishment of the predictions, the observation of Wesley is 
very just : " Josephus' History of the Jewish War is the best 
commentary on this chapter. It is a wonderful instance of 
God's providence, that he, an eye-witness, and one who lived 
and died a Jew, should, especially in so extraordinary a man- 
ner, be preserved, to transmit to us a collection of important 
facts, which so exactly illustrate this glorious prophecy, in al- 
most every circumstance." Note on verse 14. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 165 



CHAPTER VII. 

Principal subjects — The Coming of Christ, and the History 
of Jerusalem since the Roman War. 

Does the 27th verse refer to the Romans ? — Opinions of eminent Divines — 
The Issue announced — How the question is to be settled — The Passage 
examined — Its designed use — Things to be considered — The single bear- 
ingof the Illustration — The Carcass and the Eagles — Two Applications — 
How one could be taken and another left — An important Emendation of 
Matthew's Record — Position of the passage from Luke — Destruction and 
Dispersion of the Jews — Different from previous Dispersions — Jerusalem 
in the possession of the Gentiles — Import of the expression, "Trodden 
down of the Gentiles" — The city in the times of Constantine — Julian the 
Apostate — His attempt to defeat the fulfillment of the Prophecy — Result 
— How the city is to be in the possession of the Gentiles — Import of the 
expression, "Times of the Gentiles.' 

Verse 27. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even 

UNTO THE WEST, SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE. 

This verse is so important in its relations to the general 
subject, that a misapplication of it cannot fail to involve the 
exposition of the chapter in inextricable difficulty. That it 
appears to refer to the second personal advent of our Lord is 
sufficiently evident. But that it does primarily and exclu- 
sively refer to that event is generally denied. And, in this 
general denial, those who believe in such an advent make, to 
a certain extent, common cause with those who do not believe 
in it. The passage itself is probably as plain a reference to 
the second advent as any one in the whole Bible. And if it 
were placed almost anywhere else in the Bible, the believers 
in the second coming of Christ could scarcely find a reason 
for disagreement about its meaning. 

But the connection of the passage with the other parts of 
the discourse is insisted upon by some as sufficient evidence 
that it must, in some way, refer to the temporal matters that 
were, at that precise point, the subjects of prophecy. If this 



166 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

be allowed to decide the matter, then there can be but one 
primary application of the verse ; and that must refer it to 
the temporal judgments which then formed the special topics 
of discourse. It is deemed advisable to lay before the reader 
the opinions of commentators whose works are in common 
use in our country. 

Bishop Newton (On the Prophecies.) " The Roman army 
entered Judea on the east side of it, and carried on their 
conquests westward, as if not only the extensiveness of the 
ruin, but the very route which the army would take, was 
intended in the comparison of the lightning comiug out of 
the east, and shining even unto the west."* Lond. ed.p. 354. 

Dr. Coke. " His coming will not be in this or that particu- 
lar place, but like the lightning, sudden and universal. The 
appearance of the true Christ will be as distinguishable from 
that of the false Christs, as lightning, which shineth all 
round the hemisphere, is from a blaze of straw ; it is very 
remarkable, * That the Roman army entered into Judea on the 
east side of it, and carried on their conquests westward.' " 

Dr. Clarke. " It is worthy of remark, that our Lord, in 
the most particular manner, points out the very march of the 
Roman army; they entered into Judea on the east, and 
carried on their conquests westward, as if not only the ex- 
tensiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army 
would take, were intended in the comparison of the lightning 
issuing from the east, and shining to the westP 

Dr. Scott. " The Christians, if they had not been fore- 
warned, might have been deceived on another ground ; for 
they expected their Lord to come, not to deliver, but to de- 
stroy Jerusalem ; they were therefore reminded that his 
coming for this purpose, would not be secret, or local / but 
bike the " lightning, which shineth" at once from east to west ; 
for in his righteous providence, he would, with conspicuous 

*This was not original with Bishop Newton; he professed to derive it 
from Bishop Peabck. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 167 

and irresistible energy, desolate the whole land. The Eoman 
armies entered Judea by the east, and carried their victorious 
ravages to the west, in a very rapid and tremendous manner." 

Richard "Watson. " In the noble and illustrative compari- 
son here used, his disciples were taught that he would not 
appear in the desert or in secret places, but, 1. In public ma- 
jesty as Judge, to be known 'by the judgment which he 
should execute.' 2. Suddenly, without whispering premoni- 
tory rumors, even as the lightning from heaven. 3. Through 
the length and breadth of the land, by the sudden and gen- 
eral, meeting of the Roman armies in march, from the east 
even to the west, all hastening from the Mediterranean coasts 
on the east, toward Jerusalem on the west." 

Dr. Whitby. " You will then need none to instruct you 
where Christ is, or to say to you, He is here, or there ; for by 
the Roman army, which shall pass through the territories of 
the Jews like lightning, his coming to take vengeance on that 
nation shall be manifest ; and wherever the Jews, who, like 
dead carcasses, shall be devoured by the Roman eagles, are, 
thither shall he fly with them, to tear and to devour them." 

Mr. Burkitt. "There is a three-fold coming of Christ 
spoken of in the New Testament. 1. His coming in his 
spiritual kingdom by the preaching of the gospel among the 
Gentiles. 2. His coming to destroy Jerusalem forty years 
after his ascension. 3. His final coming to judgment at 
the great day. All these comings of the Son of man, for 
their suddenness and unexpectedness, are compared unto 
lightning, which in a moment breaketh out of the east, and 
shineth unto the west. Learn hence, that the coming and 
appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the judging of the 
wicked and impenitent sinners, will be a very certain, sudden, 
and unexpected appearance." 

Cottage Bible. " The meaning appears to be, that as this 
surprising meteor shoots in the same instant from east to 
west, and pervades the whole horizon, so should the Roman 



108 HARMONY ASD EXPOSITION. 

armies, which attend the coming of the Son of man, like a 
mighty tempest, at once cover the whole land of Israel." 

Mr. Barnes. " This is not designed to denote the quarter 
from which he would come, but the manner. He does not 
mean to affirm that the Son of man will come from the east, 
but that he will come in a rapid and unexpected manner, like 
lightning. Many would be looking for him in the desert ; 
many in secret places. But, he said, it would be useless to be 
looking in that manner. It was useless to look to any par- 
ticular part of the heavens, to know where the lightning 
would next flash. In a moment it would blaze in an unex- 
pected part of the heavens, and shine at once to the other 
part. So rapidly, so unexpectedly, in so unlooked-for a quar- 
ter, would be his coming." 

That Mr. Barnes understood the illustration of the light- 
ning to be applicable to the destruction of Jerusalem, appears 
from several observations that follow the above. 

" The words, therefore, had doubtless a primary reference 
to the destruction of Jerusalem, but such an amplitude of 
meaning as also to express his coming to judgment." 

Referring to the illustration of the eagles, in the next verse, 
he remarks : 

" This verse is connected with the preceding by the word 
'for,' implying that this is a reason for what is said there, that 
the Son of man would certainly come to destroy the city, 
and that he would come suddenly. The meaning is, he would 
come hy means of the Roman armies." 

Dr. Benson. " The coming of the Son of man shall be in 
a very different manner, and for very different ends, from 
what you are imagining. It shall be like lightning, swift, un- 
expected, and destructive. His appearance will be as dis- 
tinguishable from that of every false Christ, as lightning, 
which shines all around the hemisphere, is from a blaze of 
straw. 

"What Bishop Pearce observes from Josephus is very 
remarkable. 'The Roman army entered into Judea on the 
east side of it, and carried on their conquests westward, as if 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 169 

not only the extensiveness of the ruin, but the very route 
which the army would take, was intended in the comparison 
of the lightning coming out of the east and shining even unto 
the west." 

There are many other smaller and less important publica- 
tions, which adopt the same general method of explaining the 
verse under notice. They are usually but little more than 
mere compilations ; and, as might be expected, copy from the 
more extensive commentaries their principal ideas, and their 
leading illustrations. Several of the more ancient standard 
expositions are quite confused and undecided in respect to 
the meaning of the illustration of the lightning. So far as 
the author has been able to extend his researches back along 
the succession of commentators, Bishop Peaece appears to 
have been the ingenious discoverer of the happy mode of 
interpreting the illustration of the lightning. From Bishop 
Pearce the thing was copied by Bishop Newton in his work 
on the Prophecies. And this latter work appears to have 
been the principal source of argument and illustration, in 
commenting on this part of the Scriptures, for nearly all the 
later divines. " Honor to whom honor is due." 

The foregoing quotations, considered with reference to 
their principal points, teach just two things : 1. That the 
lightning shining from east to west illustrates the invasion 
and conquest of Judea by the Romans : that they entered 
into Judea on the east, and carried on their conquests west- 
wardly. 2. That as the lightning flashes out suddenly and 
unexpectedly, instantly illuminating the whole heavens ; so 
would it be with respect to the coming and conquests of the 
Roman armies ; it would be so sudden, so unexpected, and 
the conquests and desolations so general and rapid, as to be 
fitly represented by the flashing, spreading, destructive light- 
ning. 

The author is not sensible of doing injustice to the prece- 
ding quotations, by this condensed summary of their general 



170 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

teaching ; and his only object in making this summary is, to 
bring more distinctly before the reader the precise points to 
which he designs to reply. 

Reader, consider attentively the principal points in these 
quotations ; notice how confident the declarations, and the 
appeals to history ; and how important to the proper under- 
standing of the prophecy these historic illustrations are con- 
sidered. Having done this, carefully consider now what you 
are about to read ; for its importance commends it to your 
most serious attention. After a long, thorough, and entirely 
satisfactory examination of this matter; having critically 
examined the original authorities referred to ; having in innu- 
merable instances made it a subject of inquiry, and sought 
information from the living, as well as from the writings of 
the deceased ; the author is now prepared to make his unex- 
pected, startling, but well-weighed, and confident statement. 

Reader, there is no truth, or semblance of truth, in those 
quotations, so far as they relate to the history of the coming 
and conquest of the Romans. Not only is there no truth in 
them, but in respect to the point in question, they are diametri- 
cally opposite to the truth in every important particular. The 
whole thing is a fiction, with hmdly a sufficiency of founda- 
tion truth to be called a romance. The positive affirmations 
are proved to be without truth by the very authorities which are 
appealed to ! 

The issue is distinct, and the reader is challenged to inves- 
tigate. But how shall the question be decided % by opinions, 
or assertions ? Certainly not ; it is purely a question of fact, 
and to facts the appeal is made. But as the investigation 
would necessarily interrupt the consecutive exposition of the 
prophecy, the facts in the case are brought together in a part 
of the book specially devoted to that purpose. The reader is 
therefore particularly requested, before proceeding any fur- 
ther, to turn to the second Appendix, and, with a good map 
before him,* examine the subject for himself. 

* Robinson's is the best. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 171 

Verse 27. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even 

UNTO THE WEST ; SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE. 

Supposing the reader to have complied with the request to 
examine the application of this verse to the Jewish war, and 
that he is now ready to proceed with the Exposition, we come 
directly to the text. 

We find several things in this verse to observe : 

1. The Lord was not, at this point, discussing the subject 
of his coming ; but merely alluded to it for a particular pur- 
pose, to be hereafter considered. The reference to his com- 
ing, in this place, was evidently anticipatory, so far as it 
relates to chronological order. The proper position for the 
subject of his coming, to be regularly described, is after the 
29th verse. There it is treated formally, particularly, and 
with special reference to its preceding, attending, and succeed- 
ing events. Will the reader do himself and the author the 
favor carefully to notice this evident and important fact. 

2. Another thing to be observed is, that this reference to 
his coming was for the purpose of illustrating another subject; 
not the coming of the Romans, but the coming of the FALSE 
Christs, of which he was then particularly speaking. 

3. And it should be noticed also, that the intention of 
the illustration was to point out a contrast, not a similitude. 
The Lord had in view the liability of his disciples to be mis- 
led by confounding things that had no proper similarity. 
They might be deceived by the false Christs, on the supposi- 
tion that when the Lord should come, it might be in a 
manner similar to the appearance of the impostors. He at 
once secures them from this source of danger, by simply 
stating the manner in which he would appear, — as the light- 
ning flashing through the heavens. 

4. Christ undoubtedly desired that this illustration should 
have such an impression on the minds of his disciples as 
would be natural, — not needing a lengthy dissertation, or, 
indeed, any labored effort, to produce the proper impression. 
The minds for which the illustration was intended (supposing 
it designed for general use,) were not the critical, the investi- 
gating, and the superior ; but the common minds ; the minds 



172 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

of the farmers, merchants, mechanics, fishermen, day laborers ; 
those of the women and children ; in a word, the ordinary- 
minds of the people generally. And such would undoubtedly 
understand him to speak of himself, in a strictly personal, and 
not in a merely representative, or judicial sense. And this 
would be the more likely to be the case, from the fact that he 
did, immediately after, speak so evidently of his personal 
advent. 

5. "We should be careful not to judge of the impression 
naturally produced in their minds, by the groundless notions 
which we may have derived from the far-fetched, labored, 
metaphysical, and — as has been proved — fictitious, interpre- 
tations of this passage. The disciples of that day had not our 
numerous, voluminous, figurative, and wonderfully ingenious 
expositions of the Lord's discourse. They listened to its 
delivery, or they perused the record, with very different pre- 
conceptions from ours. So far as they prejudged the matter 
at all, they supposed that Christ would come, in person, about 
that time. Everything indicates this: the coming of the 
impostors ; the danger of deception ; the nature of the admo- 
nitions ; the misunderstood predictions. And the admonitions 
of Christ cannot be tortured into such a shape, as to show, or 
even to appear to show, that he desired or intended to remove 
from their minds the impression that the coming he referred 
to would be a personal coming. His whole effort in the case 
was to guard them against other things ; particularly, against 
a misunderstanding of the time and manner of his coming. 

6. Our Lord most certainly knew what were the supposi- 
tions of the disciples respecting the nature of his coming ; 
and it is sufficiently obvious that the reference to his coming in 
the 27th verse, was intended to guard them against deception 
on this particular point. But how did he do it ? Did he say 
to them, You are mistaken in your impression that I am to 
come personally : it is not a personal coming, as the impos- 
tors will pretend, but only a figurative or judicial coming : 
I mean simply that I am to come in judgment, by means of 
the Roman armies ? 

Now if this was in fact the coming he referred to, and he 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 173 

desired to guard them against being deceived by the impos- 
tors, how much more natural it would have been for him just 
to have informed them of this ; and, by so doing, not only 
guard them from danger of deception on this point, but save 
many generations from misapprehending him. But, instead 
of removing their impression that he was to come personally, 
he made an allusion to a coming that he immediately de- 
scribed in a way that seems to be as personal as language can 
make it. And the difference between the coming of the 
impostors and his own coming, he did not in any way inti- 
mate to consist in being the one personal, and the other 
figurative ; but in the distinctly asserted fact, this his coming 
should be as the lightning flashing through the heavens. 

And when he introduced the subject in its proper order, not 
by a mere allusion, but for the purpose of describing it, he 
affirmed that he would come in the clouds of heaven, and that 
all the tribes of the earth should see him coming in that man- 
ner. This must certainly have been to the disciples, with 
their previous impression of the personality of his coming, 
not only a sufficient guard against deception by the false 
Christs, but also a deep confirmation of the reality of his 
coming in person at the proper time. 

The subject is here treated incidentally, and will be re- 
sumed at the appropriate place to treat it particularly, as our 
Lord himself has done. 

Verse 28. Foe wheresoever the carcass is, there well the eagles be gath- 
ered TOGETHER. 

But what is intended by the carcass and the eagles ? This 
is a little obscure. Those who see nothing but the coming of 
the Romans in the reference to the coming of the Son of man 
as the flashing lightning, will of course find something to fix 
upon, in connection with the Romans, which may be used as 
an argument for such an application of the text. And it should 
be cheerfully admitted that among the images and other de- 
vices on the Roman ensigns, the image of the eagle was very 
conspicuous ; as much so, probably, as the same figure on our 
own national standard. And this seems to have been consid- 



1Y4 HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ered a sufficient proof that the preceding verse refers to the 
Romans, because of this supposed allusion to their ensigns. 
But on this point there are several things to be considered. 

1. It has been proved that the reasons assigned for referring 
the 27th verse to the Romans, are not founded in fact, Is it 
not more than useless, then ; — is it not reprehensible, to coun- 
tenance and propagate so evident and so injurious an error ? 
If the eagles of the 28th verse refer to anything connected 
with the Romans, the proof must be drawn from some other 
source than the verse relating to the lightning. 

2. If the 27th verse be acknowledged to have no reference 
to the Romans, but to be an anticipatory reference to the 
coming of Christ, then the 28th verse would be closely related 
to the 26th, and would seem to refer more particularly to the 
impostors of whom Christ was then discoursing. The body of 
the Jewish people might then be considered as the lifeless 
carcass, ready to be preyed upon by the false prophets and 
false Christs, who, like the eagles, would scent their prey, and 
gather to deceive and destroy. The advantages of this appli- 
cation over the usual one would be, (1.) That the subject of 
the discourse would not be interrupted by the introduction of 
an entirely new theme ; for, in this case, the 27th verse would 
be a mere allusion — parenthetic in nature — to a subject re- 
ferred to for a moment to show, at a glance, the contrast 
between the true coming of Christ — which would soon be 
formally considered — and the coming of the impostors, which 
was then the immediate subject of discourse. And, (2.) This 
application would better agree with the character of the eagle; 
for it is well known that this bird is not gregarious, and does 
not make its attacks in great numbers, like armies. It is an 
unsocial bird ; and, to quote Watson's Dictionary, " Provi- 
dence has constituted it a solitary animal ; two pairs of eagles 
are never found in the same neighborhood, though the genus 
is dispersed through every quarter of the world." 

Now the Romans rushed upon the Jews in large masses, 
totally unlike the gathering of the eagles to the prey, solitarily, 
or in single pairs. But the impostors, of whom Christ was then 
speaking, did not come upon the Jews in crowds, but singly, 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 175 

or in small numbers at a time. And they were really as much 
instrumental in the destruction of the Jews as the Romans 
themselves, though not quite so immediately. 

These considerations are not relied upon as proving the 
supposition beyond dispute ; but as worthy of notice, showing 
very clearly that there is no necessity of referring the verse to 
the Romans. If, however, it should be deemed more appro- 
priate to interpret the verse in connection with the 27th, then 
nothing can be more proper than to apply it to the destruction 
of the wicked at the second coming of Christ. 

The Scriptures distinctly teach us, that when the Lord Jesus 
shall be revealed from heaven, it will be in flaming fire, taking 
vengeance on the wicked, who shall then be destroyed. 2 
Tliess. i. 7 ; Rom. ii. 5. And we are just as distinctly taught 
that the angels will be the agents employed in that final de- 
struction of the wicked. Sinners dead in trespasses and sins, 
might be represented as the lifeless carcasses ; and the awful 
descent of the angels from heaven, to execute the judgments 
denounced upon the incorrigible, might be represented fitly 
by the terrible rushing of the eagles upon their prey. And 
this application, too, should be preferred to the one in com- 
mon repute. It is not insisted upon however. 

3. But, in relation to the application of the text, it should 
be remembered, that the illustration itself was neither new 
nor unusual. Long before the Romans were heard of, the 
gathering of the eagles to their prey was a proverb among the 
Orientals. Job. xxxix. 27-30. 

The Old Testament contains several references to the eagles ; 
and sometimes, it seems, the ravages of armies are illustrated 
by the habits of this bird. But whether the illustration in 
the verse before us was designed to apply to the Romans or 
not, it is certain that a little less positiveness in the matter 
would be more becoming : and a little more attempt at proof 
would be desirable, on the part of those who so confidently 
teach that the coming of the Romans is intended. 

4. After all, this is a matter of but little consequence in its 
bearing upon this Exposition. If it refers to the Romans, its 
introduction in this manner, and in this place, is exceedingly 



176 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

abrupt, and tends greatly to confuse the mind, in its efforts to 
discover the chronological relation of the events predicted. 

Allowing the application of the illustration to the Romans, 
it seems appropriate to read it in connection with the passage 
which follows it in the Harmony, which is the next one 
brought under notice. 

If any importance, touching this point, should be given to 
the seventeenth chapter of Luke, then this gathering of the 
eagles to the carcass should be considered as referring to that 
specific time when there should be " two men in one bed ; the 
one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be 
grinding together ; the one shall be taken, and the other left." 
"And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord ? And 
he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the 
eagles be gathered together." Luke xvii. 34-37. 

It should be observed here, that our Lord is now, (Luke xvii.) 
speaking of a particular time of separation, between those 
most intimately associated. And it was to be " in that night" 
And there is nothing in the whole passage that appears to 
have the remotest reference to the Romans. But, on the other 
hand, there are some considerations which make it appear 
exceedingly improper so to apply it ; especially the specific 
time "in that night;" and likewise the nature of the occur- 
rence which would then take' place : not the escape of one, 
and the taking of the other ; but a taking of one from the side 
of another, who is left. 

Now what was there during the whole Roman war that was 
so prominent among the other events as to mark the specific 
time "in that night," when the gathering of the eagles should 
be dated ? And, more particularly, what was there, " in that 
night," that corresponded with the predicted separation of 
intimates — the talcing of one, and leaving the other? What 
does this mean ? It must be admitted by every one, that our 
Lord was now, (Luke xvii.) discoursing of the "day when the 
Son of man is revealed." 

Those who understand the Saviour to refer to his literal com- 
ing, to separate "between the righteous and the wicked, find no 
indefiniteness or difficulty in the passage. For, in Matt. xiii. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 177 

30, we learn that the angels will be directed to "gather together 
first the tares," in order to destroy them ; and in verse 49 we 
read, " So shall it be at the end of the world ; the angels shall 
come forth, and server the wicked from among the just." In 
this way it is easy to perceive how two may be together, and 
one may be taken, and the other left. 

And it is worthy of remark, too, that the second coming of 
Christ is represented as being in the night. Matt. xxv. 6. 

It may have been noticed that the quotation from Luke 
xvii. omitted the 36th verse. This was designed ; for it is 
quite probable that that verse is not genuine. 

Our best divines either leave it out, or mark as doubtful or 
interpolated. Our standard Bible has this marginal note, 
" This 36th verse is wanting in most of the Greek copies." Dr. 
Clarke says, "The 36th verse is,without doubt, an interpolation." 

Finally, in view of the manifest impropriety of applying the 
illustration of the lightning to the coming of the Romans, as 
it has been sufficiently exhibited in the proper place ; and in 
view of the consideration that the Lord was not then referring 
to the Romans at all, but to his own personal advent, as con- 
trasted with the appearance of the impostors, why should the 
associated illustration of the eagles be so confidently — without 
any proof, or necessity — applied to the Romans, of whom he 
then had no occasion to speak ? 

Why should it not be judged to refer to the event with 
which it is associated in the seventeenth chapter of Luke ? 
especially, since in that event there is an evident propriety of 
application, and since it was at that point the evident subject 
of discourse ? 

But, as previously observed, it is not essential to the theory 
of this Exposition whether the illustration of the eagles be ap- 
plied to the Romans or not ; yet, for the foregoing reasons, 
the author prefers the application either to the coming of the 
impostors, or the advent of Christ with his holy angels, to ex- 
ecute judgment upon the incorrigible at the end of the world. 
"With these two events the illustration agrees better than in 
its application to the Romans, both in respect to its connec- 
tions with the discourse, and with the nature of the events. 
12 



ITS HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

[Luke : And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led 
away captive into all nations j and jerusalem shall be trodden down of the 
Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.] 

The importance of this passage from Luke must be evident 
to all. It is surprising that it has had so little prominency in 
the endeavors of biblical writers to frame a theory of exposi- 
tion that should be in harmony with itself. " But the passage 
has often been alluded to." Yes, truly, it has often been al- 
luded to, and that is about all. It is proper here to remark, 

(1.) This passage forms a part of the Lord's discourse, just 
as certainly as if it had been preserved in the record of Mat- 
thew ; for, although it is not improper to suppose that some 
things in the discourse may have been, for wise purposes, 
omitted in the records, yet it would be inexcusable to suppose 
that any of the inspired writers had added a passage that the 
Lord did not deliver. This would be a false record. Let it 
be kept in mind, then, that the very words of this passage 
from Luke were spoken by Christ ; and that they just as truly 
belong to this prophecy as if they were found in every one 
of the evangelists. 

(2.) It is obvious that some importance should be allowed 
to the position which this passage occupies in the discourse. 
It will be observed from the Harmony that it is not placed 
where it is usually found in the Harmonies which are in com- 
mon use. It is generally placed opposite to Matt., verse 21, 
22, and Mark, verses 19, 20. But why it is placed there, re- 
mains yet to be discovered. Why it should not be placed 
there, will appear from several considerations. 

First. It is out of the chronological order. The passage it- 
self, as all may perceive, is indefinitely long, as it relates to 
the time of its fulfillment ; and a principal part is yet unac- 
complished. But it is made to occupy a position where it 
separates events which transpired in connection with the war 
that desolated the land seventeen centuries ago. This, of itself, 
ought to be sufficient to prove that the passage is out of place 
in our common Harmonies ; for, as has been shown in this Ex- 
position, our Lord had great respect to the chronological order 
of events in framing his discourse. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 179 

Secondly. In its present position in the Harmonies in com- 
mon use, the passage does not make good sense. It is placed 
opposite to the verses which speak of the Lord's shortening 
those days of tribidation, lest all flesh should perish. Of 
course the passage in question is made to refer to the same 
days that the Lord had shortened for the elect's sake. But 
the passage itself speaks of days of tribulation that have al- 
ready lasted nearly eighteen hundred years, and are yet un- 
fulfilled. Now, to speak of having shortened the longest 
national dispersion that the world ever witnessed, is not to 
speak good sense. It is doing injury to the natural perception 
of propriety of speech which forms the groundwork of all in- 
telligent instruction, and the only rational basis of conviction. 
And the inconsistency of making the passage speak in this 
way, is aggravated by the fact, that, while these days are yet 
unfulfilled, so far from there being a probability that " no 
flesh should be saved," " except those days should be short- 
ened," the Jews have wonderfully increased ; and probably at 
this moment number more than they did at the beginning of 
the Eoman war. 

Thirdly. The commentators and harmonists who have ei- 
ther made or adopted the usual arrangement of the parallel 
passages, completely nullify the teaching of the verse in ques- 
tion. They do it in this way : When pressed to define what 
days of tribulation those were that were shortened for the 
elect's sake, they invariably limit them to the time of the 
Eoman war, and particularly to the final siege of Jerusalem. 
But this completely nullifies the teaching of the passage un- 
der notice ; for this passage still reaches on to future times, 
after so many ages of partial fulfillment. 

Fourthly. By putting the passage from Luke into its pres- 
ent position in the usual Harmonies, it of course comes in be- 
fore the verses which refer to the appearance of the false 
Christs and the false prophets that so characterized the times 
of the Roman war. And, according to the ordinary arrange- 
ment of the verses, our Lord is made to say, after giving the 
prediction in question, "Then if any man shall say unto you, 



180 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Lo, here is Christ, or there ; believe it not. For there shall 
arise false Christs and false prophets," &c. 

Now, whether there shall be such impostors after the fulfill- 
ment of the passage in question, is possible, perhaps ; but 
that the prediction of these impostors was literally fulfilled 
during the Roman war, is admitted by all. Why, then, by 
such a collocation of verses, divert the passage from its legiti- 
mate teaching, and make it refer to another period, to which 
it does not belong ? 

These are some of the reasons why the verse in question 
should not occupy the position where it is usually found. We 
will now notice a few things to justify the position of the verse 
in the harmony of this treatise. 

First. We notice that the passage cannot be out of place, as 
it respects what follows it. For, as all can perceive for them- 
selves, it was placed by Luke before the verses relating to the 
signs in the heavens. Let this he distinctly understood and 
remembered. 

Secondly. As it relates to the general captivity and disper- 
sion of the Jews, and the still continued downtreading of Je- 
rusalem by the Gentiles, it chronologically belongs to the pe- 
riod subsequent to the final siege of Jerusalem. This cannot 
be dented. Now, then, if our Lord continued to deliver his 
predictions in chronological order, where does this passage 
belong ? Precisely where you find it in this Harmony* It 
is here made to precede the prediction of the signs in the 
heavens ; and to follow the description of the final siege. 
Where else can it be placed, if any regard be had for the 
chronological order of events ? 

And do you not see that Luke himself has placed it pre- 
cisely at this point ? The preceding verse relates to the " great 
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people ;" and it is 
evidently parallel with the verses in Matthew and Mark which 
speak of the unexampled tribulation which all our divines 
agree in referring to the final siege of Jerusalem. 

In placing the 24th verse of Luke where it is found in this 
Harmony, we have not only strictly observed the chronologi- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 181 

cal order of events, but we have most certainly followed the 
inspired writer, who was moved to preserve this important 



The only thing necessary to add, is, that Luke, writing a 
supplement to the other records, and finding that Matthew and 
Mark had both given a particular narrative of the prediction 
of the appearance of the impostors, did not think it necessary 
to record that part of the discourse. And it will be observed 
that what he omitted belongs to the period of the war and 
siege of Jerusalem, and was, of course, antecedent to the pe- 
riod embraced in the verse under notice. Certainly, then, in 
a full record of all that is presented of our Lord's discourse, 
this verse must come in precisely where this Harmony places it. 
So much (and is it not enough ?) has been said to show that 
the verse in question does not belong where it is usually found 
in the Harmonies in common use ; and so much, to show that 
it does belong precisely where this Harmony places it. The 
argument is intended for men of intelligence and candor. 
"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword." 
This is a condensed statement of the destructiveness of that 
terrible war, particularly of the dreadful slaughter that at- 
tended and terminated the siege of the capital. A particular 
account of the Jews during that war has already been given, 
and need not be repeated. It is estimated that more than a 
million perished at Jerusalem alone. 

"And shall be led away captive into all nations." 
Never was a prediction more literally and terribly fulfilled. 
In the former general captivities there had been but compara- 
tively little dispersion : they had been permitted to dwell to- 
gether, to some extent, even in the land of their captivity. 
Even in Egypt the great body of the Israelites had a distinct 
portion of the country assigned them, and had their own reli- 
gious and social communities, customs, and rules. And 
when the ten tribes were carried away into captivity, and the 
kingdom of Israel terminated, the people appear still to have 
inhabited the same region of country, as a general thing, and 
undoubtedly enjoyed more or less of their peculiarities of re- 
ligion and government. 



182 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

So, likewise, when the two tribes were carried away, and 
the kingdom of Judah destroyed for a season, the Jews seem 
to have been kept in the same region of country. 

But the captivity predicted by the Saviour was not only 
more general than the former, but it reached the extremity 
predicted by Moses : they were driven to the uttermost parts 
of the earth. It is not designed to say, in the foregoing re- 
marks, that the Jews were not, to some extent, dispersed 
among all nations, in consequence of the former captivities ; 
but only that the dispersion was not so general as the one now 
under consideration. 

The two tribes were carried to Babylon ; and the ten tribes 
appear to have been carried east of the Tigris, into the further 
regions of Assyria. When Judea was finally laid waste by 
the Romans, and the people either destroyed or carried cap- 
tive, the dispersion appears to have been more general than 
formerly. This may not have resulted immediately ; but it 
did result finally, as the facts in the case demonstrate. 

It is sufficient to answer the language of the prediction, if 
there was a dispersion among the principal nations then ex- 
isting. But what then began by the Roman captivity has 
been ever since fulfilling, until now there is hardly an inhab- 
ited spot where the descendants of Jacob are not found. They 
bleach or blacken in all climes, and all the languages of the 
earth are spoken by Jewish tongues. For some divine pur- 
pose, the Jews have been preserved as a distinct people, du- 
ring the long ages of their captivity ; and for some divine 
purpose they have been scattered among all nations. Their 
destiny is so manifestly providential, that there is reason to 
believe that God will yet use them for some great work in the 
consummation of the gospel age. We shall have occasion to 
refer to this subject again in connection with another part of 
the chapter. 

" And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles >, un- 
til the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" 

The meaning of this appears to be, (1.) That the city shall 
remain in the possession of the Gentiles during the specified 
term. But r (2.) By being trodden down, something more than 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 183 

mere possession must be intended: it is a term that denotes 
violence, and, applied to a people, oppression. Now, speak- 
ing of the city with reference to its sacred associations, and 
speaking of it especially as a Jew would naturally feel, 
the Gentile occupants of it might well be regarded as tramp- 
ling it oppressively under their feet, even when they did not 
particularly ravage or abuse it. In the possession of the Gen- 
tiles, the Jews have ever regarded it as an abused and injured 
place. It occasions great pain to them to see their holy city 
— the city of the living God — occupied and polluted by the 
uncircumcised nations. And so far as the Jews are concerned, 
the city has been more oppressed and abused than any other 
on the face of the globe. 

For half a century after its desolation by the Romans, the 
city remained almost entirely unoccupied, except by the gar- 
rison that was stationed there to keep possession. After this 
the Roman emperor rebuilt the city, changed its name, and 
placed there a Roman colony. Thus it remained until the 
time of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, when the 
city, and indeed the whole country, was Christianized, if such 
a term may be used to describe such a conversion and revo- 
lution as were brought about by Constantine and his pious 
mother, the celebrated empress Helena. Jerusalem now be- 
came to the Christian what it had formerly been to the Jew ; 
but still to the Jew it was a forbidden city, for it was kept 
under the control of the Christian Gentiles. And the Chris- 
tians seemed to regard the Jew as being as great an abomi- 
nation as the Jew had formerly regarded the heathen. The 
Christianizing of the country was not, then, any great favor 
to the Jews ; the city of his fathers, and of his father's God, 
was to him a forbidden place. And this prediction of the 
Lord Jesus was doubtless as well understood by the people 
then as it is now. So far the prediction had been literally 
fulfilled. But Providence was willing to permit it to be 
publicly tested whether the word of Christ should fail in this 
important matter. 

After Constantine had reigned thirty years, he was suc- 
ceeded by Constantius the Second, who reigned twenty-four 



184 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

years. Then that wonderful man, Julian, called the Apos- 
tate, became emperor of Rome, A. D. 361. Julian appears 
to have been the most learned and philosophic, the most able, 
brave, and successful, and, in his way, the most religious, of 
the emperors of that age of the world. He was educated in the 
belief and practice of the Christian religion by Ensebius, an 
Arian Bishop of Mcomedia.** But as Julian was finally brought 
into open conflict with his brother Constantius, the emperor, 
who was a professor of Christianity of the Athanasian party, Ju- 
lian was not only brought to oppose the dominion of Constantius, 
bnt also his religion, and his Lord. Succeeding to the em- 
pire, he eventually made an open renunciation of Christianity, 
and embraced the religion of the Pagans, and became remark- 
ably zealous in promoting paganism and conforming to its 
practices. This gained for him the title of Apostate. But he 
issued an imperial decree, granting free toleration to all the 
religions of the empire. Probably out of hatred to the reli- 
gion from which he had apostatized, more than from any 
other motive, and from a desire to defeat the very prediction 
now under consideration, "he embraced the extraordinary 
design of rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem." He must, of 
course, make some pretence of piety to explain such an un- 
expected and singular enterprise. " In a public epistle to the 
nation or community of the Jews, dispersed through the 
provinces, he pities their misfortunes, condemns their oppres- 
sors, praises their constancy, declares himself their gracious 
protector, and expresses a pious hope, that after his return 
from the Persian war, he may be permitted to pay his grate- 
ful vows to the Almighty in his holy city of Jerusalem." 

Jerusalem was at this time, we should recollect, in the 
possession of the Christians. The church of the Holy Sepul- 
chre, and other magnificent buildings of Christian origin, 
adorned it ; and the church there was numerous, wealthy, and 
enjoyed a preeminence somewhat proportional to the remarka- 
bleness of the city itself. It was visited, as it is now, by 
pilgrims from all parts of the world. But the Christians then, 

* This "was not Eusebius Pamphilius, the celebrated Ecclesiastical Histo- 
rian ; but an Arian Bishop, who was contemporary with him. 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 185 

as now, were almost exclusively Gentiles, and the prediction 
of the Lord Jesus was still fulfilling. 

To quote again from Gibbon's Decline and tttll, "The vain 
and ambitious mind of Julian might aspire to restore the 
ancient glory of the temple of Jerusalem. As the Christians 
were firmly persuaded that a sentence of everlasting destruc- 
tion had been pronounced against the whole fabric of the 
Mosaic law, the imperial sophist would have converted the 
success of his undertaking into a specious argument against 
the faith of prophecy, and the truth of revelation." 

The Apostate at first designed to prosecute the Persian 
war, and then carry out his ambitious designs respecting the 
holy city. But as he contemplated the advantages which 
success in his building enterprize might give him, as an 
opposer of the religion of Jesus, he changed his plans : " The 
prospect of an immediate and important advantage would 
not suffer the impatient monarch to expect the remote and 
uncertain event of the Persian war. He resolved to erect, 
without delay, on the commanding eminence of Moriah, a 
stately temple, which might eclipse the splendor of the church 
of the Kesurrection on the adjacent hill of Calvary ; to 
establish an order of priests, whose interested zeal would 
detect the arts, and resist the ambition, of their Christian 
rivals ; and to invite a numerous colony of Jews, whose stern 
fanaticism would be always prepared to second, and even to 
anticipate, the hostile measures of the Pagan government." 
The emperor now selected his men, and had the work com- 
menced with the order with which all his enterprizes were 
undertaken. The officer who was appointed to superintend 
the affair, " received an extraordinary commission to restore, 
in its pristine beauty, the temple of Jerusalem." " At the 
call of their great deliverer, the Jews, from all the provinces 
of the empire, assembled on the holy mountain of their 
fathers ; and their insolent triumph alarmed and exasperated 
the Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem. The desire of re- 
building the temple has in every age been the ruling passion 
of the children of Israel. In this propitious moment the 
men forgot their avarice, and the women their delicacy; 



186 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

spades and pick-axes of silver were provided by the vanity of 
the rich, and the rubbish was transported in mantles of silk 
and purple! Every purse was opened in liberal contribu- 
tions, every hand claimed a share in the pious labor ; and the 
commands of a great monarch were executed by the enthu- 
siasm of a whole people." 

Here, now, we have a systematic and powerful combina- 
tion to hinder the further fulfillment of this wonderful 
prophecy. All that imperial authority, wealth, influence and 
zeal could do, — all that they could do, assisted by such zeal 
and energy as were exhibited by the assembled Jews, — all 
this was brought to bear against the truth of this prophecy. 
What was the result ? The sceptical historian has sufficiently 
answered : "Yet on this occasion, the joint efforts of power 
and enthusiasm were unsuccessful ; and the ground of the 
Jewish temple, which is now covered by a Mahometan 
mosque, still continued to exhibit the same edifying spectacle 
of ruin and desolation." Providence interposed by taking 
away the life of the profane Apostate ; he lived but six months 
after commencing his undertaking. "But," continues the 
historian, " the Christians entertained a natural and pious 
expectation, that, in this memorable contest, the honor of 
religion would be vindicated by some signal miracle. An 
earthquake, a whirlwind, and a fiery eruption, which over- 
turned and scattered the new foundations of the temple, are 
attested, with some variations, by contemporary and respecta- 
ble evidence. This public event is described by Ambrose, 
bishop of Milan, in an epistle to the emperor Theodosius, which 
must provoke the severe animadversion of the Jews ; by the 
eloquent Chrysostom, who might appeal to the memory of 
the elder part of his congregation at Antioch ; and by Greg- 
ory Nazianzen, who published his account of the miracle 
before the expiration of the same year. The last of these 
writers-has boldly declared, that this preturnatural event was 
not disputed by the infidels ; and his assertion, strange as it 
may seem, is confirmed by the unexceptionable testimony of 
Ammianus Marcellinus. The philosophic soldier, who loved 
the virtues, without adopting the prejudices of his master, has 






HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 187 

recorded, in his judicious and candid history of his own times, 
the extraordinary obstacles which interrupted the restoration 
of the temple of Jerusalem. 'Whilst Alypius, [the super- 
intendent under Julian] assisted by the governor of the 
province, urged, with vigor and diligence, the execution of 
the work, horrible balls of fire breaking out near the founda- 
tions, with frequent and reiterated attacks, rendered the place, 
from time to time, inaccessible to the scorched and blasted 
workmen ; and the victorious element continuing in this man- 
ner, obstinately and resolutely bent, as it were, to. drive them 
to a distance, the undertaking was abandoned.' Such au- 
thority should satisfy a believing, and must astonish an 
incredulous, mind." See Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the 
Roman Empire. 

This writer last quoted by Gibbon, with such a commenda- 
tion, was the emperor's private secretary, and finally wrote 
his biography. So this attempt to defeat the fulfillment of 
this prophecy proved abortive. The city continued in about 
the same condition two or three hundred years. Then it was 
taken and plundered by the Persians. Then it was taken 
from the Persians by the emperor Heraclius, who restored it 
to the Christians again; and the Jews were forbidden to 
come within three miles of the city. Not long after, it was 
taken by the Mahometans, and, with the exception of the 
time it was in the hands of the Crusaders, (who were also 
Gentiles,) it has been trodden under foot by the followers of 
the false prophet. How the city is situated at the present 
day, is too well known to need a particular description ; the 
crescent of Omar's mosque still glitters upon Moriah, and the 
Gentile treads the summit of Zion ; while the poor, despised, 
insulted Jew crawls to a remaining fragment of the ancient 
wall, that he may kiss the stones of his father's habitation, 
and lift up his wailing cry, "How long, Oh, Lord, how 
long?" 

" Until the times of the Gentiles oe fulfilled" 
The treading down of Jerusalem, though continued long, 
is limited. When that period has transpired which is here 
called " the times of the Gentiles," the holy city will cease to 



188 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

be trodden down, as it has been since its desolation by the 
Romans. It seems rational to suppose, that at that time, it 
will again come into the possession of the Jews. 

But what are we to understand by the times of the Gentiles f 
undoubtedly the same as St. Paul intends by the fullness of 
the Gentiles. Rom. xi. 25. 

Wesley's annotation is, " The times of the Gentiles — that 
is, the times limited for their treading the city ; which shall 
terminate in the full conversion of the Gentiles." His note 
on the expression in Romans is, " Till there be a vast harvest 
among the heathen." "Wesley's view of the extent of this 
conversion of the Gentiles, is given more definitely in his 
note on the next verse, — " And so all Israel shall he saved, — 
being convinced by the coming in of the Gentiles. But there 
will be a still larger harvest among the Gentiles, when all 
Israel is come in." 

Providence has limited a time, during which the Gentiles, 
in large numbers, will be converted ; and a certain period, or 
extent, of that conversion among the Gentiles is called their 
fullness, and the fulfilling of their times. Until that period 
shall arrive, the Jews will be generally blinded : the vail will 
be upon their hearts ; they will remain dispersed among the 
nations, and the Gentiles will possess their capital city. At 
a certain period of the prevalence of the gospel among the 
Gentiles, the blindness which had previously hindered the 
conversion of the Jews shall be taken away, and they be 
generally gathered unto Christ. With this change in their 
spiritual condition, will occur a change in their political. 
Providence will gather them in from their captivity among 
the nations, and their holy city shall be no longer trodden 
down by the Gentiles. 

Dr. Clarke's comment on the words under notice is not very 
dissimilar to Wesley's. " Till the fullness of the Gentiles 
come in, — i. e., till all the nations of the world should receive 
the gospel of Christ, after which the Jews themselves should 
be converted to God." 

Whitby's view is thus expressed : " Jerusalem shall be 
inhabited, not by the Jews, but by the Gentiles ruling there, 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 189 

till the season for the full conversion of the still hea hen 
Gentiles shall come in ; i. e., till the time of the conversion 
of the Jews, and the flowing in of all nations to them." 

These justly celebrated divines have undoubtedly given — • 
generally speaking — the true sense of the passage. But 
there seems to be a necessity of speaking of the conversion 
of the Gentiles with some limitations ; for the same passages 
which are relied upon to prove the ingathering, evidently 
teach that it will be only a general, not a universal, conver- 
sion. And some passages which refer to that time expressly 
teach that all will not be converted when the Lord comes to 
judgment. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Principal Subject — Darkening the Sun, &c. Various In- 
terpretations Reviewed. 

The Figurative Theory not very Ancient — Influence of a Mistake — Nature 
of the Argument — Plan of the Argument — Two Branches of the Figura- 
tive Theory — The Difference — Double Sense Theory — Robinson's — Ar- 
guments used in sustaining the Figurative Theories — Examination and 
Refutation — Review of Whitby — What led him into his Peculiar Views — 
Difficulties of Error — Whitby against Grotius and Whiston — Newton's 
Theory — The Argument on "Immediately after the Tribulation of those 
days," reviewed — Josephus — Facts — Appeal to Logic — Conclusion — 
The Argument relating to the Figurative Language of the Old Testament 
considered — The Prophecy of Joel — The Question Settled — An Exegeti- 
cal Curiosity — Peter's Reference to the Prophecy of Joel — How did he 
understand it? — Other specimens from the Old Testament — An important 
Fact in the case — Origin and Proprieties of Metaphorical Language, 

Verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun 

BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON SHALL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT, AND THE STARS SHALL FAH 
FROM HEAVEN. 

Most of the modern divines have considered this verse, and 
those associated with it, as figurative, and have made their 
expositions accordingly. Their ingenious theories of exegesis 



190 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

have become extensively and permanently incorporated with 
our standard biblical literature. And, such being the char- 
acter of the books of study and reference in ministerial educa- 
tion and labor, it is not at all surprising that the opinions of 
our leading commentators should almost universally obtain 
with the ministry and membership of the modern church. It 
will be as difficult now to change the deep impressions and 
permanent modes of thinking on this subject, as to alter the 
deep- worn courses of our rivers, or change the direction of the 
streets of our cities. 

It seems, however, from the concessions of some of our 
leading divines, that the figurative theory of expounding this 
portion of the Scriptures is modern : it was not so interpreted, 
usually, by the ancient commentators. Dr. Clarke, who was, 
-perhaps, as well qualified to judge in this matter as any man, 
makes this concession. His words — or Bishop Newton's, 
rather; for he copies from the Bishop — his words are — 
" Commentators generally understand this, and what follows, 
of the end of the world, and Christ's coming to judgment : but 
the word immediately shows that our Lord was not speaking 
of any distant event, but of something immediately conse- 
quent on calamities already predicted ; and that must be the 
destruction of Jerusalem." 

Upon whom rests the responsibility of changing the more 
ancient channels of thought, and diverting the former convic- 
tions of the church from the simple literal into the metaphor- 
ical, it may not be easy to determine. But there is a natural 
tendency in the reflective mind to follow up the streams of 
passing events, and discover, if possible, their first beginnings. 
We love to explore the majestic rivers that flow deep and 
broad along our borders, until we may stand with a foot on 
either side, and gaze down into the little fountains whence 
they originate. And even if these remote beginnings lie 
hid in the inaccessible regions where we may not extend our 
researches, still we like to ascend as near to the undiscovered 
sources as possible. 

As it is evident that the present usual method of expound- 
ing this part of the Scriptures is not the more ancient — the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 191 

primary method — but one of quite recent origin, the author 
has felt a great desire to trace the principal figurative meth- 
ods back to their origin. He has not succeeded, however, as 
well as he hopes some other person may do ; but so far as he 
has accomplished his design, it appears that Bishop Pearce 
either invented, or, more probably, adopted from some earlier 
writer, the leading features of the common figurative theory ; 
and that Bishop Newton, in his work on the Prophecies, en- 
dorsed and adopted the theory ; and from him it has been 
borrowed by many writers of more recent date. The inves- 
tigations of the author have not furnished him with any evi- 
dence that the present usually adopted methods of figurative 
exegesis are of any great antiquity, or of any such authority 
as might properly deter a man from examining them, with a 
view to test their truthfulness and propriety. . Like all other 
merely human methods and opinions, they may be erroneous ; 
and no one can reasonably censure an honest difference of 
opinion, or a respectful, but earnest, opposition, if they are 
conceived to be erroneous theories, and injurious to the cause 
of truth. 

The author has employed a large portion of his time, and 
devoted his very best efforts, to the investigation of this sub- 
ject. And the reader may be assured that what may be 
advanced for his consideration, is not the result of mere cap- 
tiousness, or springs from any desire to be found arrayed 
against the popular opinions of the age. 

In accounting for the origin of the figurative theories of 
exegesis in common use, it may be difficult to determine how 
much influence has been exerted by Bishop Pearce's mistake 
in applying the 27th verse to the coming and conquest of the 
Romans. But as that verse must be regarded as a key to 
much that follows, an essential error in the explanation of that 
verse must be fatal to the correctness of the exposition of the 
verse now under comment. 

Of the probable history of that most egregious and fatal 
error, perhaps enough has already been said. If undeniable 
facts can demolish a fanciful theory, the usual application of 



192 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the 27th verse has been demonstrated* to be utterly without 
foundation. And so far as the explanation of that verse af- 
fects the passage before us, so far the argument is an argument 
of facts, and not of mere opinions. It is not the author of 
this Treatise in array against the good and great men from 
whom he has the fate to differ ; but it is an army of authen- 
ticated facts arrayed against dignified, popular, but erroneous 
opinions. 

With a full persuasion of the erroneousness and injurious- 
ness of the usual methods of expounding this part of the 
prophecy of our Lord, conscious of entire purity of motive, 
and confiding in the great Author of truth, the writer reso- 
lutely braces himself to the task, which, undesired on his part, 
Providence seems, to some extent, to have assigned to so un- 
worthy an instrumentality. 

The plan of procedure, in this part of the Exposition, will 
be, Firstly, To notice the usual figurative exegesis of the pas- 
sage. Secondly, To exhibit the arguments usually employed 
in support of such exegesis. Thirdly, Review those arguments. 
Fourthly, Give, and defend, the true exposition. 

I. The figurative theory is first to be considered. 

Whitby's comment may be selected as embodying the sub- 
stance of this theory, though in some things he differs from 
most of the others, in relation to the time intended by the 
" tribulation of those days." 

" It being foretold that this should happen immediately 
after the wasting of the Jews by Vespasian's army flying 
quickly through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea ; this cannot be 
taken literally, because no such thing then happened to the 
sun, moon, or stars. It must be, therefore, a metaphorical 
expression, to signify, as it doth frequently in the Old Testa- 
ment, and other writers, an utter desolation, and terrible de- 
struction, brought upon a nation, and upon their capital cities, 
compared to the sun and moon ; for in this language the 
prophet Isaiah speaks of the destruction of Babylon, saying, 
xiii. 9, 10, ' The day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with 

* The reader is supposed to have read the second Appendix, in its proper 
connections. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 193 

wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate ; and he shall 
destroy the sinners thereof out of it ; for the stars of heaven 
and the constellations thereof shall not give their light ; and 
the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon 
shall not cause her light to shine.' The indignation of God 
against the Idumeans is represented in like dreadful words, 
Isa. xxxiv. 3, 4 ; so is the destruction of Sennacherib and his 
people, Isa. li. 6 ; go is the destruction of Egypt, Ezek. xxxii. 
7. And in these words this very destruction is foretold by 
Joel, ' The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars 
shall not give their light. (Joel iii. 15, ii. 31.) 

" This, therefore, saith Maimonicles, ' is a proverbial expres- 
sion, importing the destruction and utter ruin of a nation.' 
Artemidorus also saith, that, ' the sun darkened or turned into 
blood, and the stars falling, or disappearing, import the de- 
struction of many people.' And in this sense it is almost in- 
credible, which Josephus saith, viz: that eleven hundred 
thousand perished in that siege." Whitby continues, "Anoth- 
er exposition of these words is this, That then there shall- be a 
destruction of their ecclesiastical and civil state, and of the 
rulers of them both ; according to these words of Maimonides, 
'This metaphor imports, that men who for their state and 
dignity might be compared to the sun, moon, and stars, shall 
suddenly fall down as a leaf from the vine and from the fig tree.' 

"And this happened a considerable time hefore the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, when the thieves and zealots, saith Josephus, 
' kept all the nobles, and rulers of the country, in close custo- 
dy ;' when the zealots ' slew and consumed the nobility, and 
made it their business to leave none of the men of power 
alive,' and when i twelve thousand of the nobility perished 
after this manner ;' when the high priests, and among them 
Ananus, were destroyed by the Idumeans, which Josephus 
reckons * the beginning of their captivity ;' when they ' abol- 
ished the families of the high priest by succession, and placed 
in their room men ignoble and unknown, who neither belong- 
ed to the priesthood, nor knew what the office of high priest 
meant.' That this was to happen before 'the great and ter- 
rible day of the Lord,' or at that time, we learn from the 
13 



194 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

prophet Joel, saying, that ' then shall the snn be darkened,' 
&c. This therefore cannot be referred to any time after the 
destruction of Jerusalem." 

Thus far the learned and critical Whitby. 

Dr. Clarke adopts, from Zightfoot, the same general princi- 
ple of exegesis ; but it will be seen that he places the darken- 
ing of the heavenly lights after the fall of Jerusalem. 

" The word immediately shows that our Lord was not 
speaking of any distant event, but of something immediately 
consequent on calamities already predicted ; and that must be 
the destruction of Jerusalem" Quoting Lightfoot, he contin- 
ues, " The Jewish heaven shall perish, and the sun and moon 
of its glory and happiness shall be darkened — brought to 
nothing. The sun is the religion of the church ; the moon is 
the government of the state ; and the stars are the judges and 
doctors of both." This is followed by the usual Scriptural 
references. 

There is just this specific difference between Dr. Clarke and 
Whitby ; while both reject the literal interpretation of the 
passage, and refer to the same Scriptures for proof, yet, strange- 
ly, one places the event before the destruction of Jerusalem, 
and the other after ! 

These two commentators may be regarded as having ex- 
pressed the present usual understanding of the passage before 
us, with this Jnost remarkable circumstance ; that the same 
texts of Scripture which lead one to place the event previous 
to the fall of the city, lead the other to place it afterward! 
And the many divines who have more or less followed in the 
metaphorical theory, appear to have found some difficulty in 
deciding between these two opinions ; and they have generally 
not chosen to speak definitely on the point. Perhaps some of 
them did not think it was of much importance which way it 
was decided, if it was only figurative. 

The theory of double sense, or the typical method of inter- 
preting the passage, appears to have had less favor with our 
divines. Matthew Henry almost adopts it, and Richa/rd 
Watson adopts it fully. Several others refer to it favorably. 
But, as a late writer has shrewdly remarked, {Meth. Quar. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 195 

Review, July, 1842,) " If commentators could make out a lit- 
eral or a figurative sense, clear of difficulty, they would adopt 
it. But as they cannot do this, they destroy the difficulty by 
doubling it. Because they cannot make it either, they make 
it both ; and thus make our Lord utter about two subjects 
at the same time, what seems to them to be applicable to 
neither." 

Dr. Robinson has a theory to explain this passage, which 
differs from all those which are found in the works consulted 
in writing this Treatise. He says, in his Harmony, " The 
subsequent desolation and calamity spoken of in Matt. xxiv. 
29-31, and the parallel passages, I refer to the overthrow and 
complete extirpation of the Jewish people fifty years later 
under Adrian ; when they were sold as slaves, and utterly 
driven out from the land of their fathers." 

The foregoing extracts contain all the essential points in 
the usual theories of figurative exegesis of this part of the 
chapter. They all agree in rejecting the literal exposition ; 
and they all agree in the general application of the language 
to the Jewish government, church, and people. And, fur- 
thermore, with the exception of Dr. Robinson, they all agree 
in limiting the fulfillment of the prediction to the period of 
the Jewish calamities under the Romans. 

EL The arguments relied upon to sustain the figurative 
theory, are of several kinds. 

1. Because it was predicted that these things should take 
place " immediately after the tribulation of those daysP And 
the days spoken of are understood to mean the time of the 
calamities which befell the Jews during the Roman war, and, 
especially during the dreadful siege of Jerusalem. This lat- 
ter sentence, however, will not apply to the argument of 
Whitby, who thinks that " those days " refer to an earlier pe- 
riod of the war. ]STow, as the darkening of the luminaries of 
heaven was to take place " immediately " after that time, and 
as we have no account of any such occurrence transpiring 
literally, it is concluded therefore, that the passage is meta- 
phorical, and should be applied to the calamities of the Jew- 
ish people. 



196 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

2. Another source of argument is found in the metaphorical 
use of just such imagery, which all admit was intended to ap- 
ply to just such national and ecclesiastical afflictions. And 
there is no lack of examples of this kind. The passage from 
Joel is relied upon with great confidence, inasmuch as that 
prophet appeared to have this very time in view. And this 
is not a little strengthened by the consideration, that Peter 
applied this very prophecy of Joel to the Jews of that day. 
Indeed, it is an indeniable truth, that the prophets were ac- 
customed so to speak of temporal things : the instances are 
very numerous. And this argument appears greatly to 
strengthen the other. For if this part of the chapter cannot 
be interpreted literally, and yet must be explained in some 
way ; and if it was customary to deliver prophecies of tem- 
poral things in language identical or similar with this lan- 
guage ; and if an inspired apostle has specifically applied one 
of those prophecies to this very people, and to this very time ; 
— how can we refrain from the conclusion, that the Lord de- 
signed his prediction to be interpreted in the same manner ? 
Have we not, first, a real necessity for expounding the passage 
figuratively? And have we not, also, many scriptural prece- 
dents for doing so ? 

3. And, furthermore, the Lord has distinctly said, " *j yevsa, 
aurri," " This generation shall not pass, till all these things be 
fulfilled. And as this declaration was made after speaking 
of the things now under notice, how can we avoid coming to 
the conclusion, that all these signs in the heavens and in the 
earth were only metaphorical representations of things that 
transpired within the period which that generation of men 
then living survived? 

4. And, still further, the coming of the Son of man is de- 
scribed as an event subsequent to the darkening of the heav- 
enly luminaries ; and yet the Lord declared, " There be some 
standing here which shall not taste death, till they have seen 
the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Now, if his com- 
ing was to follow the signs in the heaven, and yet was to 
transpire before all of these men died, how can it be shown that 
the event is still future ? Why not suppose it was a figura- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 197 

tive description of things that happened during that very age 
in which his hearers lived ? 

It will undoubtedly be admitted by those who have investi- 
gated the subject, that these are the principal arguments 
which are usually urged in favor of the figurative interpreta- 
tion of this passage ; and that they are here presented in a 
form as advantageous as the circumstances render practicable. 
It has certainly been the intention, not only here, but through- 
out the Treatise, to represent everything in a fair and candid 
manner. The real desire of the writer is to master the sub- 
ject ; to grapple with its most formidable difficulties, and 
either be defeated by what is so insuperable as to take away 
the shame of defeat, or to overcome what is really worthy of 
the conquest. 

If the arguments advanced on the side of the figurative 
theory can be fairly met and overcome, then the way will be 
clear for the full strength of the argument on the other side. 
We shall now address ourselves to this undertaking. 

III. The first of the arguments on the side of the figurative 
theory is derived from the declaration, that these signs in the 
heaven should take place (EOds'ws 6s iisra. t^v d\Qiv <r£v ^spftv 
ixsivuv,) " immediately after the tribulation of those days? 
Now, with the exception that the particle <5s (but) is not trans- 
lated, it is admitted that the usual rendering of the sentence 
is perfectly correct and literal. The word rendered " imme- 
diately" means immediately. It is but reasonable to suppose, 
however, that, in applying it, something should be allowed for 
the greatness and unusualness of the events. When the hand 
of a clock is within five minutes of striking, we may say that 
the clock will strike immediately ; but we could not appro- 
priately say so, if it lacked half an hour of striking. But we 
might just as properly say of a youth, that he will immedi- 
ately become a man, or soon become of age, though it might 
lack a month, or a year. 

The greatness and uncommonness of an event has some in- 
fluence upon the adverb. The great event under considera- 
tion will transpire soon after the other ; but the immediate- 
ness of its transpiration is to be estimated with some regard 



198 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

to its greatness and uncommonness ; we are not obliged to 
suppose it will be as immediately as the sound of thunder is 
heard after the sight of the flash. It will be the next great 
event after the former ; and it will not be long after the for- 
mer ; it will presently occur ; as quickly as one great event 
may be said to follow another without synchronising with it. 

(2.) But what are we to understand by " the tribulation of 
those days?" Certainly, those of which the Lord had just 
been speaking. This we are obliged to admit, for the pro- 
noun " those " must refer to something already mentioned. 
Whitby, who is the most critical on this subject ; refers the 
time to a period preceding the destruction of Jerusalem. His 
comment on the verse under notice, opens in this way : "It 
being here foretold that this should happen immediately after 
the wasting of the Jews by Yespasian's army flying quickly 
through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea ; this cannot be taken 
literally, because no such thing then happened either to the 
sun, moon, or stars." To this, it is replied, that it does not 
say it should happen immediately after the wasting of the 
Jews by Yespasian's army. That is a mere assumption of 
the learned divine ; and it is a most singular and unsupported 
assumption. No one of the commentaries and histories con- 
sulted in writing this Treatise, contains the least intimation 
that those days of tribulation to which Christ referred, were 
to be limited to the very beginning of the Jewish tribulations. 
So far as the authors in common use among us are concerned, 
"Whitby appears to be alone in this singular opinion. The 
truth is, our Lord has so evidently referred to the horrible 
siege of Jerusalem, as forming a part of that unparalleled 
tribulation, that writers of all beliefs and all theories have 
almost, if not quite, universally (with this exception) agreed 
that the horrors of that terrible siege were particularly in the 
Lord's view when he referred to those days of tribulation. 
To conclude, as Whitby does, that the tribulation of those 
days refers to a period anterior to the final siege, necessarily 
leads to several absurdities : 

First. That the notable siege, which consummated both 
the distress and the ruin of the church and nation, was enr 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 199 

tirely omitted in our Lord's most minute and wonderfully 
comprehensive predictions. 

Secondly. If, as Whitby supposes, the siege and final deso- 
lation are intended by the very passage now under review, 
then we must suppose that our Lord gave a very plain and 
literal account of the commencement and progress of the war 
through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea, where there is not one 
word of proper figurative language, but as soon as he came to 
speak of the finishing up of the war, he then suddenly broke 
forth into the most highly figurative language that can be found 
in all the confessedly poetic departments of the Bible ! This is, 
indeed, possible / but the good sense of the innumerable con- 
flicting writers on this part of the Scriptures, has usually kept 
them from conceiving or embracing such an opinion. 

Thirdly. This second conclusion could not be entertained, 
without supposing that the siege and consummation of the 
war were so much more conspicuous and calamitous than the 
previous desolations, as to justify the abrupt transition from 
simple prose to the most highly wrought and imaginative poe- 
try. But this would be expressly at variance with our Lord's 
declaration, — " For then shall be great tribulation, such as 
was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor 
ever shall be," — for the form of the theory now under re- 
view, necessarily supposes this declaration to refer to distresses 
previous to the final siege. Now, to suppose that the distress 
in the first stages of the war were greater than the distress of 
that unparalleled siege, is almost inexcusable in one who 
has examined the subject. And to suppose that the distress 
of that war, previous to the final siege, was greater than had 
ever occurred in all the wars since the beginning of the world, 
is supposing what no historic evidence is sufficient to sustain. 
Read the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and other references to 
the previous suffering of the Jews, and see if you can be sat- 
isfied that they suffered more under Vespasian than they did 
previously by Nebuchadnezzar, or afterwards by Titus. 

Fourthly. Can we be justified in concluding, that there was 
less distress during that stage of the war which was so much 
more calamitous and fatal than the previous, as to have blot- 



200 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ted out the sun, moon, and stars of the Jewish government, 
church, and eminent people ? Yet, according to Whitby, we 
must suppose that the distress that occasioned this consum- 
mation of ruin was less than that which affected them during 
the earlier periods of the war. If a siege that resulted in the 
death of eleven hundred thousand people in six months, was 
attended with less tribulation than a war of conquest that re- 
sulted in the death of only about three hundred thousand du- 
ring three or four years, then we must begin to calculate the 
calamities of war by some other rule than the one in general 
use. 

Fifthly. Whitby contradicts and overthrows his own argu- 
ments in the premises, when he considered the subject with 
reference to other things than this strange theory which he 
had endeavored to maintain. For instance — in justification 
of his conclusion, that the text under notice is merely a met- 
aphorical description of the downfall of the Jewish govern- 
ment and church, he refers to those poetical predictions of 
the Old Testament which speak, as he says, of " an utter des- 
olation, and terrible destruction brought upon a nation, and 
upon their capital cities, compared to the sun and moon." 
And, quoting Maimonides, in relation to the use of such met- 
aphors, he says, — it " is a proverbial expression, importing the 
destruction and utter ruin of a nation." 

Now, we ought to suppose, as Whitby himself labors to show, 
that this utter ruin of the nation took place when their capi- 
tal and temple fell into the hands of the conqueror, and what 
was left of the nation was utterly dispersed. But, distrust- 
ing, as it would seem, his own reasoning in support of his first 
theory, he immediately presents, and appears to adopt, anoth- 
er theory, so totally antagonistical to the former, that what 
was before quoted to prove that the sun, moon, and stars, (as 
he understood the text,) were blotted out at the time of the 
final siege and consummation of the ruin, — were, in fact, blot- 
ted out previously to the siege of the capital! 

"Another exposition of these words," he says, " is this : 
That then there shall be a destruction of their ecclesiastical 
and ctvdl state, and of the rulers of them loth; according 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 201 

to the words of Maimonides, [whom he had just quoted to 
sustain the other theory !] This metaphor imports, that men 
who, for their state and dignity, might be compared to the 
sun, moon, and stars, shall suddenly fall down as a leaf from 
the vine and from the fig-tree." And Whitby then adds, — 
"And this happened a considerable time before the dstruction 
of Jerusalem, when the thieves and zealots, saith Josephus, 
1 Kept all the nobles, and rulers of the country, in close cus- 
tody ; and when the zealots slew and consumed the nobility, 
and made it their business to leave none of the men of power 
alive." Other quotations follow of the same general import. 
Then the commentator gives his own conclusion, " That this 
was to happen before ' the great and notable day of the Zord, 9 
or at that time, we learn from the prophet Joel, saying, that 
' then shall the sun be darkened,' &c. This cannot be refer- 
red to any time after the destruction of Jerusalem." 

There are some remarkable things here to be observed. 
The first theory supposes that " the great day of the Lord" 
was that identical time when the Jewish nation met with its 
utter desolation at the siege and destruction of their capital. 
And the prophecy of Joel was brought to sustain that posi- 
tion. The second theory supposes that the day alluded to by 
Joel, when the sun, moon, and stars should be darkened, was 
" a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem." 
And the prophecy of Joel was made to sustain that position, 
also. Now, as both of these theories are favored by the same 
author, and one must be erroneous, if the other is true, since 
they depend upon a different application of prophecy, and 
upon a different understanding of the facts in the case, differ- 
ing essentially in relation to not only the time, but the nature 
of the darkening of the luminaries ; — and as the author has 
not informed us which one is the true one ; it will be safe to 
leave one theory to combat the other. 

But why did such a writer as "Whitby labor to sustain either 
of these conflicting theories ? It was not from the natural 
teaching of the passage in its connections : it was from the 
logical foresight of an insuperable difficulty which must fa- 



202 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

tally embarrass the theory that teaches that the tribulation of 
those days meant the afflictions of that horrible siege. 

Whitby was logician enough to perceive that previously, or 
during that siege, the so called sun, moon, and stars of the na- 
tion perished ; and he could not bring himself to the task of 
showing that it was afterwards. Hence, these most embar- 
rassed, contradictory, and unsatisfactory efforts to fix " the 
tribulation of those days," at an earlier period of the war. 

It is an inconvenient thing to have a troublesome theory. 
"We have a fine specimen of this in his comment on the next 
verse, which relates to the coming of the Son of man. 

Now any one can, and must, perceive that this coming of 
the Lord was subsequent to the " tribulation of those days." 
And as the learned divine does not understand it literally, he 
must, of course, understand it metaphorically. So he applies 
it to the coming of the Romans to conquer and destroy the 
Jews ; and, as usual, refers to the Old Testameut figurative 
descriptions of the invasion and ravages of a conquering ar- 
my. Now, in the first of these theories, when he justified this 
use of such passages of Scripture, he was careful to apply 
them to the earlier stages of the war. " The tribulation of 
those days" were accomplished during the war under Vespa- 
sian ! And, in the latter theory, the darkening of the lumi- 
naries took place " a considerable time before the destruction 
of Jerusalem." 

But now, in verse 30, we have not a personal, but a judi- 
cial, coming of the Lord " by the Roman army," to punish 
the wicked Jews. When does the commentator fix upon the 
time of this judicial coming "by the Roman Army" ? Does 
he now speak of the " invasion" of the country ? No. Does 
he now speak of that time of tribulation in " the wasting of 
the Jews by Vespasian? s army quickly flying through Galilee, 
Idumea, and Judsa"? No. Does he now speak of that peri- 
od " a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem," 
when, according to his own showing, their " ecclesiastical and 
cwil state, and the rulers of them both" were destroyed % No. 
When, then, according to this commentator, did the Lord 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 203 

come "by the Koman army," to judge and punish that 
people ? 

His own words are, "Our Saviour's coming here seems, 
therefore, to import his coming by the Roman army to be- 
siege and to destroy jeeusalem, and the unbelieving Jews ; 
for so Christ seemeth plainly to interpret this i coming of the 
Son of man,' verse 27. * The coming of the Son of man shall 
be as the lightning shining from the east to the west ; for, 
wheresoever the Jews are, thither shall the Roman army be 
gathered" ! Indeed ! Then this judicial coming by the Ro- 
man army, was not the " coming" of the Romans when they 
made the invasion ; it was not that visitation that brought 
about the " tribulation of those days," which was under Ves- 
pasian • neither was it the destruction of their " ecclesiasti- 
cal and civil state, and the rulers of them both," which took 
place " a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem," when their sun, moon, and stars were blotted out, and 
the government and rulers were utterly. destroy ed ; — ]STo; — 
in this case the judicial coming was " to besiege and destroy 
Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews" ! That is, after the 
nation had been destroyed, as he understood it ; after their 
sun, moon, and stars were blotted out ; then the Lord came, 
by the Romans ! to judge and to punish them ! 

When such profound, logical, and laborious divines as 
Whitby are driven to such wretched, self-destructive reason- 
ings, it is time to suspect that their theories are wrong. What 
reliance can we place upon Scripture, if it may thus be made 
to teach any and every thing, just as men may choose to make 
it ? The theories are wrong : that is the difficulty. It should 
be observed, in passing, that in Whitby's Appendixes there is 
a lengthy and very labored defence of his theory against Gro- 
tius and Whiston. Much of it is irrelevant to the purpose of 
this Treatise ; but so much of it as really comes in the way 
of the exposition attempted in this work, has been already 
answered in the former portions of this work, or will be 
answered in the comment upon verses yet to come un- 
der notice. His argument in that part of his work, 
however, it will njoi be appropriate to review formally, as 



204 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

has been done with his comment on the passage now be- 
fore us. 

Having thus disposed of "Whitby's theory of placing " the 
tribulation of those days " at a comparatively early period of 
the war, before Jerusalem was besieged, we now pass to notice 
another form of the figurative theory, which teaches that the 
tribulation of those days refers especially to the horrors of the 
final and fatal seige of the capital city. 

This branch of the figurative theory may be called, for dis- 
tinction's sake, the Newtonian theory, inasmuch as it appears 
conspicuously in Newton's Dissertation on the Prophecies, and 
from thence is copied substantially — without credit, how- 
ever, — into several of our standard commentaries. Newton's 
language is, (referring to the verse under notice,) " Commen- 
tators generally understand this and what follows, of the end 
of the world, and of Christ's coming to judgment : but the 
words, ' immediately after the tribulation of those days,' show 
evidently that he is not speaking of any distant event, but of 
something immediately consequent upon the tribulation be- 
fore mentioned, and thai must be the destruction of Jerusalem? 

This is quoted and adopted by Dr. Coke, and also by Dr. 
Clarke. Dr. Scott also takes the same view, as may be seen from 
his words, " The clause, ' immediately after the tribulation of 
those days,' restricts the primary sense of these verses to the 
destruction of Jerusalem, and the events consequent to it." 
Burkit's view is the same : referring to the verse before us, he 
says, " Our Lord goes on in figurative expressions to set forth 
the calamities that should befall the Jewish nation, immedi- 
ately after the destruction of Jerusalem? Watson takes the 
same view, as may be seen by his note on the previous verse. 
Barnes takes the same view ; and how many others adopt it, 
it is not necessary to mention : it is the popular understand- 
ing of the passage. 

This branch of the theory, then, thus far, presents just two 
points ; 1. That " the tribulation of those days " refers par- 
ticularly to the siege and destruction of Jerusalem ; 2. That 
immediately after this would occur the darkening of the 
heavenly luminaries, which is understood to apply to the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 205 

Jewish state and church. The application is thus stated, in 
the language of Lightfoot : " The Jewish heaven shall perish, 
and the sun and moon of its glory and happiness shall be 
darkened — brought to nothing. The sun is the religion of 
the church ; the moon is the government of the state ; and 
the stars are the judges and doctors of both." This states 
specifically the usual method of applying the passage. 

Now, in relation to this matter, it should be observed, (1.) 
That it is not to be decided by opinions, but by facts. It is 
not a doctrine, or an opinion that is to be tested, but a plain 
matter of fact ; and to facts the appeal should be made. The 
witness shall be the Jewish historian, whose testimony in the 
case cannot be impeached. 

(2.) We learn from Josephus, that even previously to the 
siege, both the church and government were in a state of ab- 
solute anarchy ; and that the officers and priests were deposed 
and destroyed ; so that all law, and all official authority, were 
absolutely overthrown. 

Josephus says, {Be Bell. Jud., lib. 4, cap. 11,) the thieves 
and zealots " kept all the nobles, and rulers of the country, in 
close custody. And {Lib, 5. cap. 20,) the zealots " slew and 
consumed the nobility, and made it their business to leave none 
of the men of power alive." 

He tells us {Lib. 4, cap. 19,) that " twelve thousand of 
the nobility perished after this manner ; when the high priests, 
and among them Ananus, were destroyed by the Idumeans, 
which Josephus reckons " the beginning of their captivity." 
He tells us {Lib. 4, cap. 11, 12,) that they " abolished the fam- 
ilies of the high priests by succession, and placed in their 
room men ignoble and unknown, who neither belonged to the 
priesthood, nor knew what the office of high-priest meant" 
These quotations are taken from Whitby's Commentary. All 
this, it should be remembered, was before the siege of Jeru- 
salem by the Romans. 

If the reader wishes to see the proofs of the absolute ruin 
of the government and church of the Jews at this time, he is 
desired to examine Jewish War, B. 4, c. 3, and others. The 
priesthood of the church was overthrown, and the whole mat- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ter managed by a diabolical combination of murderers and 
thieves. They seized upon the temple, defiled it, turned it in- 
to a fortress, and the robbers who had the temple in possession, 
occupied even the inner court. The robbers who had obtained 
possession of the temple sent to the Idumeans for assistance ; 
and the Idumeans came in great numbers, obtained entrance 
into the city, joined themselves to the robbers in the temple, 
and then went about slaughtering in every part of the city. 
They not only butchered many thousands of the common 
people, but also the high-priest, and the common priests, who 
were cast out naked to be food for dogs. The robbers and 
Idumeans continued their slaughter of the common people, 
and their imprisonment and destruction of the nobles, until, 
as Josephus says, they " were quite weary of barely killing 
men, so they had the impudence of setting up fictitious tribu- 
nals and judicatures for that purpose." As these unauthor- 
ized judges did not see fit to do just as their masters, the 
robbers and Idumeans wished them, " they struck the judges 
with the backs of their swords, by way of abuse, and thrust 
them out of the court of the temple ; and spared their lives 
with no other design than that, when they were dispersed 
among the people in the city, they might become their mes- 
sengers, to let them know they were no better than slaves." 

The unconquered portion of the nation were now generally 
assembled and kept at Jerusalem ; not because the city was 
besieged by the Romans, but because the people had fled to 
the capital from all parts of the country, which was now 
everywhere ravaged by the Romans. 

Of the state of the government and the church, there is 
abundance of evidence to show that all government and ec- 
clesiastical authority were overthrown. In the conclusion of 
the seventh chap, of B. 4., Josephus gives a kind of summing 
up of the anarchy that prevailed. 

"To say all in a word, no other gentle passion was so entire- 
ly lost among them [the robbers who ruled the city] as mercy ; 
for what were the greatest objects of pity did most of all 
irritate these wretches ; and they transferred their rage from 
the living to those that had been slain, and from the dead to 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 207 

the living. Nay, the terror was so very great, that he who 
survived called them that were first dead happy, as being at 
rest already ; as did those that were under torture in the 
prisons declare, that, upon this comparison, those that lay 
unburied were the happiest. These men, therefore, trampled 
upon all the laws of men, and laughed at the laws of God ; 
and for the oracles of the prophets, they ridiculed them as the 
trick of jugglers," &c. "The zealots came at last to that de- 
gree of barbarity, as not to bestow a burial either on those 
slain in the city, or on those that lay along the roads ; but as 
if they had made an agreement to cancel both the laws of 
their country and the laws of nature, and at the same time 
that they defiled men with their wicked actions, they would 
pollute the Divinity also, they left the dead bodies to putri- 
fy under the sun." 

Never was a city or nation reduced to more complete and 
horrid anarchy. " The zealots grew more insolent," after the 
retirement of the Idumeans, who had hitherto, in some meas- 
ure restrained them, " not as deserted by their confederates, 
but as freed from such men as might hinder their designs, and 
put some stop to their wickedness. Accordingly, they made 
no longer any delay, nor took any deliberation in their enor- 
mous practices, but made use of the shortest method for all 
their executions ; and what they had once resolved upon they 
put in practice sooner than any one could imagine. But their 
thirst was chiefly after the blood of valiant men, and men of 
good families ; the one sort of which they destroyed out of 
envy, the other out of fear ; for they thought their whole 
security lay in leaving no potent man alive." " And, indeed, 
there was no part of the people but they found out some pre- 
tence to destroy them ; for some were, therefore, slain, because 
they had differences with them ; and as to those who had not 
opposed them in times of peace, they watched seasonable 
opportunities to gain some accusation against them ; and if any 
one did not come near them at all, he was under their suspicion 
as a proud man ; if any one came with boldness, he was 
esteemed a contemner of them ; and if any one came as 
aiming to oblige them, he was supposed to have some treacb* 



208 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

erous plot against them ; while the only punishment of 
crimes, whether they were of the greatest or smallest sort, was 
death. Nor could any one escape unless he were very incon- 
siderable, either on account of the meanness of his birth, and 
on account of his fortune." B. 4, c. 6. 

At this stage of the Jewish anarchy, when nothing but 
death awaited the rulers, priests, and nobles, and all who 
could be suspected of being opposed to the robbers and mur- 
derers who ruled the city, and made the temple, even the 
inner courts, their fortress ; — at this time, the virtuous and 
eminent Jews who had not already fled from the city as from 
a sinking vessel, used every endeavor to escape from terrible 
sedition and anarchy within the capital. And now the bloody, 
seditious combination became divided into two rival parties, 
the leader of each striving for the supreme dominion, and 
fighting against one another, and against the common people. 
" And because the city had to struggle with three of the 
greatest misfortunes, war, and tyranny, and sedition, it ap- 
peared upon the comparison that the war was the least 
troublesome to the populace of them all." 

All this, it should be remembered, took place while Vespa- 
sian was in Judea ; and it was not far from two years "before 
the destruction of Jerusalem. Nor was this terrible anarchy 
confined to the capital; — there was a regular combination 
of ruffians, called Sicarii, out of Jerusalem, as well as within 
it. They seized upon the fortress of Masada, dispersing and 
killing all the men, women, and children within the place, 
and commenced a systematic career of murder, desolation, 
and plunder. " And, indeed, these men laid all the villages 
that were about the fortress waste, and made the whole 
country desolate ; while there came to them every day from 
all parts not a few men, as corrupt as themselves. At that 
time all the other regions of Judea, that had hitherto been 
at rest, were in motion, by means of the robbers. Now as 
it is in the human body, if the principal part be inflamed, all 
the members are subject to the same distemper, so by means 
of the sedition and disorder that was in the metropolis, had 
the wicked men that were in the country opportunity to 






HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 209 

ravage the same. Accordingly, when every one of them had 
plundered their own villages, they then retired into the des- 
ert ; yet were there men that now got together, and joined in 
the conspiracy by parties, too small for an army, and too 
many for a gang of thieves ; and thus did they fall upon ths 
holy places [the proseuche, or houses of prayer] and the 
cities ; yet did it now so happen that they were sometimes 
very ill treated by those upon whom they fell with such vio- 
lence, and were taken by them as men are taken in war ; but 
still they prevented any further punishment, as do robbers, 
who, as soon as their ravages are discovered, run their way. 
Nor was there now any part of Judea that was not in a mis- 
erable condition, as well as its most eminent city also." B. 
4, c. 7. 

At this time some who succeeded in escaping from the 
metropolis, fled to Yespasian to persuade the Roman general 
" to come to the city's assistance, and save the remainder of 

THE PEOPLE." 

Soon after this, another eminent robber, by the name of 
Simon, joined the two rival gangs in Jerusalem, and, in con- 
cert with them, " went out and ravaged and destroyed the 
country with them." He soon left the metropolis, and fixed 
his head quarters " in the mountainous parts of the country." 
" And as he had now a strong body of men about him, he 
overran the villages that lay in the mountainous country ; and 
when there were still more and more that came to him, he 
ventured to go down into the lower parts of the country ; and 
since he was now become formidable to the cities, many of 
the men of power w r ere corrupted by him ; so that his army 
was no longer composed of slaves and robbers, but a great 
many of the populace were obedient to him as to their king." 

Now occurred most horrible conflicts between the different 
gangs, or armies, rather, of the robbers. The two parties in 
Jerusalem united against the party under Simon, and came 
to a regular battle. Simon got the better of the Jerusalem 
robbers, and drove them back into the city. Then, having 
an army of twenty thousand men under him, he made an 
attack upon Idumea, and fought with them a whole day. 
U 



210 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

"Not succeeding in his undertaking at this time, he withdrew 
for a while, and then came up against them again. Meeting 
with some reverse at this time also, he renewed his attack the 
third time, and succeeded in getting possession of Hebron, 
and plundering it. " Hence did Simon make his progress all 
over Idumea, [the southern part of Judea] and did not only- 
ravage the cities and villages, but laid waste the whole coun- 
try ; for, besides those that were completely armed, he had 
forty thousand men that followed him, insomuch that he had 
not provisions enough to suffice such a multitude. ISTow, 
besides this great want of provisions, he was of a barbarous 
disposition, and bore great anger at this nation, by which 
means it came to pass that Idumea was greatly depopulated ; 
and as one may see all the woods behind despoiled of their 
leaves by locusts, after they have been there, so there was 
nothing left behind Simon's army but a desert. Some places 
they burnt down, some they utterly demolished ; and what- 
soever grew in the country they either trod it down or fed 
upon it ; and by their marches they made the ground that 
was cultivated harder and more untractable than that which 
was barren. In short, there was no sign remaining of 
those places that had been laid waste that ever they had a 
being." 

After a season, during which Simon came into collision with 
the robbers at Jerusalem, and practiced great cruelties there, 
" he returned back to the remainders of Idumea ; and driving 
the nation all before him from all quarters, he compelled a 
great number of them to retire into Jerusalem ; he followed 
them also himself to the city, and encompassed the wall all 
around again ; and when he lighted upon any laborers that 
were coming thither out of the country, he slew them. Now 
this Simon, who was without the wall, was a greater terror to 
the people than the Romans themselves, as were the zealots 
who were within it more heavy upon them than both of the 
other." John, the principal man of the robbers in the city, 
became " very potent" by means of the gang that sustained 
him, and he " made them a suitable requital from the au- 
thority he had obtained by their names ; for he permitted 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 211 

them to do all things that any of them desired to do, while 
their inclination to plunder was insatiable, as was their zeal 
for searching the houses of the rich ; and for the murdering 
of the men and the abusing of the women, it was sport to 
them. They also devoured what spoils they had taken, togeth- 
er with their blood, and indulged themselves in feminine 
wantonness, without any disturbance, till they were satiated 
therewith ; while they decked their hair, and put on women's 
garments, and were besmeared over with ointments ; and, 
that they might appear very comely, they had paints under 
their eyes, and imitated not only the ornaments, but also the 
lusts of women, and were guilty of such intolerable unclean- 
ness, that they invented unlawful pleasures of that sort ; and 
thus did they roll themselves up and down the city, as in a 
brothel-house, and denied it entirely with their impure ac- 
tions ; nay, while their faces looked like the faces of women, 
they killed with their right hands ; and when their gait was 
effeminate, they presently attacked men and became warriors, 
and drew their swords from under finely dyed cloaks, and ran 
every body through whom they alighted upon." 

Enough ! in all reason, enough ! He that wants any more 
proof of the complete overthrow of the ecclesiastical and 
civil government of the Jews, is not the person for whom 
this Treatise is intended. Now, let it be recollected that 
these disorders and calamities were not occasioned by the 
Romans : as yet they had not approached Jerusalem, nor 
the southern, nor eastern portions of Judea. These terrible 
commotions and slaughterings were occasioned entirely by 
the different parties among the Jews. Let it be remembered, 
also, that all this took place while Yespasian was in the 
northern portions of the country, and a year and a half or so 
before the destruction of the metropolis. 

Look now at the condition of the Jewish nation. 

(1.) Their high priest and many of his associates had been 
murdered, and the whole body of priesthood overthrown, and 
if there were any religious services, it was by such wretches 
as the robbers saw fit to put up. 

(2.) Their temple was changed into a citadel and strong 



212 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

hold for an army of the vilest and most abominable robbers 
and murderers that ever disgraced the human race. 

(3.) Their " holy houses," or places of prayer in the coun- 
try had been pillaged and destroyed by the bands of ruffians 
called " Sicarii" that prowled about the country, butchering, 
pillaging, and destroying wherever they went. 

(4.) Their judiciary and temple officers had either fled for 
their lives to the Romans, or had been murdered by the 
robber gangs in the city. 

(5.) Their nobles and men of wealth had been murdered by 
myriads, or had fled from the tyrants who permitted their 
gangs to plunder and murder without restraint. 

(6.) There was no legal ruler, there was no regular priest, 
there was no proper judiciary in the capital ; the whole had 
been overthrown. 

(T.) The northern parts of the country had been conquered 
and laid waste by the Romans ; the eastern parts of Judea 
had been plundered and ravaged by an organized army of 
robbers ; and the southern parts by another army of robbers 
of forty thousand strong. 

(8.) Jerusalem itself was in the entire control of different 
bands of organized robbers, who were almost continually at 
war between themselves, and whose only agreement was to 
murder and plunder, and commit lewdness without restraint. 

And thus it continued unto the end ; there was no restora- 
tion of judicial, civil, or ecclesiastical order; everything of 
the kind was ruined, totally ruined, ruined without remedy. 
These are the facts in the case. And yet our commenta- 
tors have trusted the interpretation of some of the most 
important parts of the Bible to the theory whose principal 
argument lies in the supposition, that the Jewish ecclesiasti- 
cal and civil government was destroyed "after" the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem! 

What shall we say to this ? He that is capable of appre- 
ciating the truth in the interpretation of this most important 
part of God's word, will find himself incapable of saying any- 
thing, unless it be to ask God to have mercy upon us ! It 
must be a dreadful thing to reject the literal teachings of the 



HABMONY AND EXPOSITION. 213 

• 

divine word, and adopt a theory of exposition totally desti- 
tute of foundation. It is time men began generally to use 
their own eyes in searching the divine word, and its various 
sources of illustration. We cannot safely depend even upon 
what is almost universally adopted. As in the plausible, 
popular, but totally erroneous fiction which has been used to 
explain the reference to the flashing lightning ; so in relation 
to the common supposition that the Jewish sun, moon and 
stars (as they are explained) were darkened after " the tribu- 
lation of those days," — the writer here distinctly and une- 
quivocally affirms, that the whole matter is fictitious, founda- 
tionless, and totally at variance with the truth as it is taught 
in the very history which has been supposed to confirm it. 
So far as this declaration is concerned, all the favor the writer 
asks, is, that those who are startled or offended by it, shall 
search carefully for themselves, and think for themselves, at 
the same time. The writer claims that he has settled the 
question by undeniable facts / yet still the appeal to logic 
may not be inappropriate. 

(1.) If by the sun, moon, and stars be meant the ecclesias- 
tical and civil government of the Jews, and the nobles and 
eminent men of the nation ; and if the darkening of the 
luminaries means the overthrow and destruction of these insti- 
tutions and men ; and if this was effected by the Romans 
under Yespasian and Titus ; then it must follow that it was 
done either before, or during, the tribulation that resulted in 
the entire destruction of the government, church, capital, 
temple, and principal men. 

(2.) That it occurred before that war under these Roman 
generals, no one can be willing to affirm ; for the very object 
of the war was to reduce the nation to obedience, or to bring 
it to ruin. 

(3.) That it occurred during the war must be evident from 
this undeniable fact, — the war did not cease until its object 
was effected j the nation was in ruins before the war was 
ended. This is not an opinion / it is a fact. And it is &fact, 
also, that the predicted tribulation continued undiminished to 
the last. If there was any difference in the intensity of that 



214: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

tribulation, it rather increased than diminished toward the 
close of it. Now, how any regard to logic, or to fact, will 
permit any one to say, that it was " after the tribulation of 
those days " that the eminent men, and the civil and ecclesi- 
astical government were overthrown, is one of those inexpli- 
cable things that remain yet to be revealed. 

(4.) Besides, the language of the prediction shows that the 
event in question was not to transpire in connection with that 
tribulation, but afterwards. There Was to be a distinct sepa- 
ration between them in the time of their occurrence. And it 
is unfortunate for the common translation, that one of the 
words which Christ used is entirely omitted ! And it is a 
word of great importance in making the transition, not only 
from one subject to another, but from one period to another. 
" Eud&js Se fAsra" — are the words with which Christ began this 
paragraph. " But immediately aiter," &c. Why the particle 
which makes the transition was omitted in the translation, it 
is not possible, perhaps, to explain. In the parallel place 
in Mark it is retained. " 'AXX' h hehcug raTs Wp a, £, pera ^ 
6\Qiv gxej'vujv" — "But in those days, after," &c. Now, we 
know, because it is an undeniable historic foot, that the dark- 
ening of the Jewish sun, &c, was not after those days of 
tribulation, but during that period of time. 

(5.) The question, then, is settled, — historically and logi- 
cally settled ; it was during, and not after, that time of 
trouble that the so called Jewish luminaries were darkened ; 
and this shows conclusively that Christ was not speaking of 
that event in the verse under notice. 

Some of the divines who have examined the subject per- 
sonally, as it would seem, have seen the insuperable objec- 
tions to the popular theory now under review, and have made 
most unnatural and unfortunate efforts to avoid them. "We 
have seen how this was attempted by the learned Whitby, 
and what was the result. Some later divines, perceiving, and 
wishing to avoid, the rocks on which so many have made 
shipwreck of all history and logic, have steered as far in the 
other direction. For instance, Dr. Eobinson, who says, " That 
the ' abomination of desolation,' Matt. xxiv. 15, &c, refers to 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 215 

the Roman armies by which Jerusalem was besieged and de- 
stroyed, is shown conclusively by Luke xxi. 20. The subse- 
quent desolation and calamity spoken of in Matt. xxiv. 29-31, 
and the parallel passages, I refer to the overthrow and com- 
plete extirpation of the Jewish people fifty years later under 
Adrian; when they were sold as slaves and utterly driven 
out from the land of their fathers !" And, to complete the 
matter, he understood our Lord's expression, " This generation 
shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled," as referring 
to the people then living ! Yerily, the people must have 
lived long in those days ! 

Now it is incomparably less difficult to give this passage the 
true explanation. But if the reader should find some diffi- 
culty- let him not forget what he has found in the efforts to 
expound the text figuratively. 

2. Having shown the inconclusiveness of the argument in 
favor of the figurative exposition which is founded on the dec- 
laration, ' Immediately after the tribulation,' &c. — we proceed 
to notice the argument which is founded on the use and ap- 
plication of language similar to that in the verse under no- 
tice, where all admit that it must be interpreted metaphori- 
cally. 

(1.) It is distinctly admitted that examples of such use of 
language are found in the Old Testament. Isaiah xiii. is a 
clear example of a figurative prediction of the overthrow of 
Babylon ; and the language is similar to that in the text be- 
fore us. Ezek. xxxii. presents another example of the use of 
such language, and applies to the destruction of Egypt. Isa. 
xxxiv. affords another specimen, and applies to the overthrow 
of JEdom. 

Isa. li. 6, which Whitby quotes as another specimen, and 
applies to the destruction of the army of Sennacherib, is not 
a specimen, and there is no authority whatever for referring it 
to any such event. 

Dan. viii. 10 is, perhaps, in some measure, another speci- 
men, and is a symbolical description of the doings of the lit- 
tle horn in the vision of the prophet. 

There are yet two other passages which are usually quoted 



216 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



to justify such a metaphorical reference to the luminaries of 
heaven ; and great reliance is placed upon these passages, be- 
cause, as "Whitby, Clarke, and others say, " This very destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem is represented " thus in those passages. The 
reference is to Joel ii. 30, 31, and iii. 15. 

Now, let it be well understood, that the writer of this Ex- 
position takes issue with the commentators on this point, and 
distinctly denies what they so confidently affirm. The writer 
has at hand only two commentaries on this part of the Old 
Testament, — the one by Patrick, Lowth, &c, and the work 
of Dr. Clarke. He is not prepared, therefore, to exhibit all 
that men may have said on this subject ; nor does he deem it 
necessary; the appeal is to the word of God — to the very 
chapters in dispute. Attention is called, first, to Joel ii. 30, 31. 

Yerse 30. " And I will show wonders in the heavens and 
in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31. The 
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, 
before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." This, 
it is affirmed, relates to the destruction of Jerusalem. But 
what does God say on the subject ? 

Yerse 32. " And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall 
call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered ; for in 
Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall he deliverance, as the 
Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. 
Chapter iii. 1. Foe, behold, in those days, and in that time, 

WHEN I SHALL BRING AGAIN THE CAPTIVITY OF JlJDAH AND JERU- 
SALEM, 2. I will also gather all nations, and will bring them 
down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with 
them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom 
they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land? 

Then follows from verse 3 to 6 a narration of what the en- 
emies of Israel had done to Judah and Jerusalem, and for 
which God was going to interpose in behalf of his people, and 
recompense the evil which had been done to the?n upon all the 
nations which had afflicted his heritage. Then God speaks to 
the nations which have afflicted his people : Yerse 7. " Be- 
hold I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold 
them, and will return your recompense upon your own head : 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 217 

8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand 
of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sa- 
beans, — to a people far-off; for the Lord hath spoken it." 

Then follows the proclamation of the general war between 
"the Gentiles" — "all nations "— - " all the heathen" — and 
God's people Israel. They were to beat the plow shares into 
swords, the pruning hooks into spears; and they were told 
where the great batde should be. 12. "Let the heathen be 
wakened, and com 3 up to the valley of Jehoshaphat : for 
there will I sit to judge all the heathen round aeout. 13. 
Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe ; come, get you 
down ; for the press is full, the vats overflow ; for their wick- 
edness is great." 

Tli en follows a description of the scene ; how God will in- 
terpose in behalf of his people ; how they shall triumph, and 
evermore dwell in prosperity and safety. It shall be a great 
battle ; a great and terrible day for the Gentiles ; a great and 
glorious triumph for the Jews. Yerse 14. " Multitudes, mul- 
titudes in the valley of decision ; for the day of the Lord is 
near in the valley of decision. 15. The sun and the moon 
shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 
16. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice 
from Jerusalem • and the heavens and the earth shall shake / 
but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength 
of the children of Israel. 17. So shall ye know that I am 
the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain : 
then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no stranger pass 
through hen" any more. 18. And it shall come to pass in that 
day, that the mountains shall droj> down new wine, and the 
hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall 
flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house 
of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19. Egypt 
shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilder- 
ness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because 
they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20. But Judah 
shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from generation to genera- 
tion. 21. For I will cleanse their blood that I have not 
cleansed ; for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." 



218 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

The reader is particularly desired to read the foregoing quo- 
tations and remarks, and also the observations which shall fol- 
low, with the Bible open before him, that he may perceive 
their relevancy and conclusiveness. 

In respect to these chapters in Joel, it is observed, 

Firstly. That the foregoing remarks are not designed for a 
general comment, but only to direct the reader's attention to 
the general scope of the passage, and the connection between 
the two chapters. 

Secondly. The third chapter is GooVs own explanation, not 
only of the time, but of the nature, of the events referred to i/n 
the second chapter. There was no division into chapters when 
the prophet gave the word of the Lord : he made a general 
statement of the great events of the day of the Lord ; and 
then, without any division or interruption in his discourse, 
went on to give God's own explanation of the matter. Let 
this be noticed and remembered. 

Thirdly. The time of this darkening of the sun, moon, and 
stars was not the time when the Jews were under affliction. 
It was not when their state, church, temple, and people per- 
ished. It was not the time when God helped t/ie heathen 
agavnst the Jews. It was not the time when GooVs people 
went into captivity. It was not a day of terror and suf- 
fering to Israel. It was not a day of judgment that brought 
in desolation upon Judah and Jerusalem. 

The commentators who refer these signs in the heavens to 
the calamities of the Jews, take the affirmative of the forego- 
ing declaration ; this Exposition takes the negative. 

But, lest there might be a suspicion of injustice towards the 
commentators in thus pointing out their position in the argu- 
ment, their own words will be given. The first quotation is 
from the work of Patrick, Lowth, &c. 

Joel ii. 30. " This and the following verse principally point 
out the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem by 
the Eomans, a judgment justly inflicted upon the Jewish na- 
tion for their resisting the Holy Spirit, and contempt of the 
means of grace. So Malachi, after he had foretold the com- 
ing of the Messiah, (iii. 1,) immediately adds that his coming 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 219 

should be attended with terrible judgments upon the disobe- 
dient, (iii. 2, iii. 5, and iv. 1.) The prophet here takes notice 
of the extraordinary signs which will be the forerunners of 
that destruction ; such were the great slaughters of men, 
and burning of the towns and cities of Judea, which prece- 
ded that last and finishing stroke of the divine vengeance ; 
and chiefly the comet which hung over their city, and the 
fearful sights seen in the air some time before, which are 
mentioned by Josephus, De Bell. Jud., lib. 6, cap. 31, and 
foretold by Christ, Luke xxi. 11." 

Yerse 31. " Compare Mai. iv. 5. Particular judgments 
upon kingdoms and nations are often described in such terms 
as properly belong to the general judgment. The expressions 
here used, in the literal sense, import the failing of light in 
the sun and moon, whether by eclipses (when the moon looks 
of a bloody color,) or any other cause ; and here they denote 
the dark and melancholy state of public affairs at the destruc- 
tion of the Jewish nations by the Romans ; and the utter 
overthrow of that state and government." (See the note upon 
Isa. xiii. 10.) 

Dr. Clarke's annotations are equally definite in applying 
the signs under consideration to Jewish calamities : 

Yerse 39. " Wonders in the heavens and in the earth.'] 
This refers to the fearful sights, dreadful portents,, and de- 
structive commotions, by which the Jewish polity was finally 
overthrown, and the Christian religion finally established in 
the Roman empire. See how our Lord applies this prophecy, 
Matt. xxiv. 29, and the parallel texts." 

Yerse 31. "The sun shall he turned into darkness.] The 
Jewish polity, civil and ecclesiastical, shall be entirely de- 
stroyed." 

With this application of the passage, agree all the com- 
mentators that give a figurative interpretation to the language 
in Matt. xxiv. 29. The issue, then, is distinct : the commen- 
taries generally take the affirmative of the foregoing summary 
of statements ; this Exposition takes the negative. ]STow for 
the proof : the prophet — or the Lord, rather, by the prophet- 
shall give his own explanation. 



220 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

(1.) That the last verse of the second chapter refers to the 
same period of time, is perfectly evident from its connections. 
And the commentators understand it so ; only thej give it 
a spiritual signification / 

(2.) That the^r^ verse of the next chapter refers to the same 
time, God htmself distinctly and repeatedly declares. If 
the commentators affirm differently, it is sufficient that God 
has made his own statement : " Let God be true and every 
man a liar." " For, behold, ln THors days, and in that tike, 
(how specific !) when I shall brlng again the captivity of 
Judah and Jerusalem." JS"ow, this does not refer to a time 
when Judah and Jerusalem are brought into captivity, but 
out of captivity. And so it is understood by the commenta- 
tors themselves. And well they may, for it is precisely the 
meaning which is everywhere else attached to this form of 
expression. See, for example, other places : Jer. xxx. 3, "For 

10, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the 
captivity of my people, Israel and Judah, saith the Lord : 
and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their 
fathers, and they shall possess it" See also verse 18. " Thus 
saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Ja- 
cob's tents, and have mercy on his dwelling places ; and the 
city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall 
remain after the manner thereof." See likewise, chap, xxxiii. 7. 
"And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of 
Israel to return, and will build them as at the first." Yerse 

11. " For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at 
the first, saith the Lord." Examine also all' the parallel 
places. 

We have now advanced two steps in the argument : it has 
been proved, by the commentators themselves, — or, rather, 
by the undeniable connections of the passage, — that the last 
verse of the second chapter refers to the same time that the 
sun and moon are to be darkened. And it has been proved — 
it is spoken with reverence — by God himself, that the first 
verse of the next chapter refers to the days spoken of in the 
former. And from the declaration of the Almighty, we learn 
that "those days," and " that tbje," do not refer to the time 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 221 

of the Jewish calamities and destruction, but — and God is 
witness — to the time when he " shall bring again the captivity 
of Judah and Jerusalem ;" i. e., when he shall bring them 
back again to their own land, to build them up and to bless 
them, as is proved by the parallel predictions. The issue 
thus far has been plain, and the evidence undeniable and de- 
cisive. But more yet remains. 

(3.) "In those days, and at that time" God will, indeed, 
bring all the heathen nations against Jerusalem to battle ; it 
will be a time of terrible commotion and slaughter. Yerse 
2. " I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down 
into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them 
there for my people, and for my heritage, Israel, whom they 
have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." God's 
controversy at this time is not to be with his people, but with 
their enemies who come up to fight against Israel. And his 
pleading with the enemies of his " heritage Israel," will be 
such as he describes in Isa. lxvi. 16 : " For by Jure, and by his 
sword, will the J^OYdi plead with all flesh ; and the slain of the 
Lord shall be many." 

The nature of the contest, and who are to be the sufferers, 
may be still further seen by the Lord's threatening to the hea- 
then nations that came against Jerusalem : Yerse 6. " The 
children also of Judah, and the children of Jerusalem have 
ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from 
their border. 7. Behold, I will raise them out of the place 
whither ye have sold them, and will return you recompense 
upon your own bead." 

Now, as previously shown, follows the divine proclamation 
of the general war of the Gentiles against the Jews In 
noticing this, we shall observe the specific time when the sun 
is to be darkened. 

Yerse 9. "Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ; prepare war ; 
make up the mighty men ; let all the men of war draw near ; 
let them come up. 10. Beat your plowshares into swords, 
and your pruning hooks into spears ; let the weak say, I am 
strong. 11. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, 
and gather yourselves together round about ; thither cause 



222 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

thy mighty ones to come down, Lord. 12. Let the heathen 
be wakened, and come np to the valley of Jehoshephat ; for 
there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13. Pnt 
ye in the sickle, /i?/* the harvest is ripe; come, get you down ; 
for the press is full, the vats overflow ; for their wickedness is 
great." 

And now the scene is depicted ; the vast gathering of Is- 
rael's enemies ; the day of God's vengeance upon them draw- 
ing nigh ; God's method of interposing " for his heritage Is- 
rael," by wonders in heaven above and in earth beneath ; and 
the triumph and permanent prosperity of Israel ever after. 

Yerse 14. " Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decis- 
ion ; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decis- 
ion. 15. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and 

THE STABS SHALL WITHDRAW THEIR SHINING. 16. The, Lord 

shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem / 
and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the lord 

WTLL BE THE HOPE OF HIS PEOPLE, AND THE STRENGTH OF THE 
CHILDREN OF ISRAEL." 

The battle over, the enemies of Israel slain by the divine 
vengeance, the " children of Israel " triumphant by the 
strength of the Lord, now follows the permanent result to Je- 
rusalem and the Lord's heritage. 

Yerse IT. " So shall ye know that I am the Lord your 
God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain ; then shall Jerusa- 
lem he holy, and there shall no stranger pass through her any 
more." 

The remainder of the chapter, like the verse just quoted, 
sufficiently shows that the prophecy does not relate to the time 
of trouble and desolation, but to a time of triumph and per- 
manent prosperity. There is no way to avoid the perfect con- 
clusiveness of the argument thus far, except by affirming, (1.) 
That the last verse of the second chapter does not refer to the 
same time as the verses preceding it ; or, (2.) That the first 
verse of the third chapter does not refer to the same period 
as the conclusion of the second chapter. But the inseparable 
connection of these specified portions is so evident and unde- 
niable, that probably no intelligent man can be brought to 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 223 

deny it. The commentators are under the necessity of ad- 
mitting it ; and it is only by the irresponsible and unjustifia- 
ble liberties taken by the figurative theory of interpretation, 
that anything can be said by way of explaining this portion 
of the Bible, with any degree of relation to the Eoman war. 
There is a possibility that the merely superficial or casual 
reader might, at first, be led to suppose that the specific and 
repeated allusion to the time which we see in the 1st verse of 
the third chapter, may not refer to the time described in the 
preceding chapter, but to the time " when I shall bring again 
the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem." But the critical di- 
vines know very well that the language does not afford a 
doubt of the reference being to the times described in the sec- 
ond chapter. Even those who are utterly perplexed in their 
endeavors to explain the third chapter in its connections with 
the second, honestly admit the relation. 

Take, for example, the admission of Dr. Lowth in the Com- 
mentary of Patrick, Lowth, &c. ; " Yerse 1. In those days, 
and in that time.'] The time called ' the last days ' ch. ii. 28," 
&c. It is true, indeed, that this divine supposes what is re- 
corded in this chapter, will not take place until " the latter 
part of these last days, or times," which he thinks include the 
whole period between the first and second advent. Dr. Clarke 
is equally clear in making this admission: Yerse 1. For, 'be- 
hold, in those days.] According to the preceding prophecy, 
these days should refer to gospel times, or to such as should 
immediately precede them? The italicising is retained as it 
is in the book. Now, as the reader is desired particularly to 
notice, the very commentators who refer the darkening of the 
sun to the Jewish calamities under the Romans, acknowledge 
the unbroken and inseparable connection between the 2d and 
3d chapters ; but, behold, when they come to comment on 
this very darkening of the sun, in connection with the events 
with which it is so undeniably associated, as God explains it 
in the 3d chapter, they totally abandoned the ground of their 
former exposition, and refer it to other events, or confess their 
inability to understand it. 

This is the course of Dr. Lowth, as may be seen by consult- 



224: HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ing his notes on the chapter. And, as for Dr. Clarke, his 
comment is so remarkable that it shall be quoted here not 
only as a curiosity in Bible exegesis, but as a demonstration of 
the utter insufficiency and inconsistency of the usual figura- 
tive theory for explaining these portions of the Bible. 

" Verse 1. For, behold, in those days.'] According to the 
preceding prophecy, these days should refer to gospel times, 
or to such as should immediately precede them. But this is a 
part of the prophecy which is difficult to be understood. All 
interpreters ovre at variance upon it / — some applying its prin- 
cipal parts to Cambyses / his unfortunate expedition to Egypt ; 
the destruction of fifty thousand of his troops (by the moving 
pillars of sand,) whom he had sent across the desert to plun- 
der the rich temple of Jupiter Ammon ; his return to Judea, 
and dying of a wound which he received from his own sword, 
in mounting his horse, which happened at Ecbatane, at the 
foot of Mount Carmel. On which his army, composed of 
different nations, seeing themselves without a head, fell out, 
and fought against each other, till the whole were destroyed. 
And this is supposed to be what Fzekiel means by Gog and 
Magog, and the destruction of the former. See Ezek. xxxviii 
and xxxix. [! !] Others apply this to the victories gained by 
the Maccabees, and the destruction brought upon the enemies 
of their country ; while several consider the whole as a figu- 
rative prediction of the success of the gospel among the nations 
of the earth. It may refer to those times in which the Jews 
shall be brought in with the fullness of the Gentiles, and be 
reestablished in their own land. Or, there may be portions 
in this prophecy that refer to all the events / [!] and to others 
that have not yet fallen into the range of human conjecture ; [!] 
and will be only known when the time of fulfillment shall 
take place. In this painful uncertainty, rendered still more 
so by the discordant opinions of many wise and learned men, 
it appears to be my province, as I have nothing in the form 
of a new conjecture to offer, to confine myself to an explana- 
tion of the phraseology of the chapter ; and leave the reader to 
apply it as it may seem best to his own judgment." [! ! !] 

It is really painful to observe the indefiniteness, confusion, 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 225 

and contradictions which characterize most of the usual an- 
notations on the times of general gathering and conversion of 
the Jewish people. And jet the fact of their final gathering 
is too evident from the prophecies to be denied. And this 
unhappy state of difference and difficulty among the commen- 
tators, which Dr. Clarke has so truly described and exhibited, 
may be attributed mainly, if not entirely, to the trouble which 
is occasioned to them by their unfortunate theory of literali- 
zing what they happen to understand, of spiritualizing what 
is a little obscure, and allegorizing here and there through 
the chapters and verses, with little or no respect to the proper 
rules of literary criticism. When the times and events of this 
chapter are spoken of in other places, they sometimes refer 
them to one thing, and sometimes to another, without any 
apparent standard of certainty to guide them. And yet the 
reference to the darkening of the sun and moon in these two 
chapters, in the first place, is affirmed confidently (without a 
shadow of proof, however,) to refer to the result of the Roman 
war. But when the same thing is considered in the connec- 
tions with which the prophecy has placed it, we meet with 
little else than obscurity, confusion, and contradiction in the 
annotations of our numerous divines. And yet the time of 
the events in this third chapter of Joel is proved to be the 
same period which is described in the chapter preceding it. 

But did not St. Peter, in the discourse recorded in Acts, 2d 
chapter, apply this darkening of the sun, &c, to the destruc- 
tion of the nation by the Romans ? No / he did not do any 
such thing : Those who assert it, do so without a particle of 
proof : they do so against proof : All that Peter affirmed in 
quoting the prophecy of Joel, was simply that the dispensa- 
tion, or period of time, spoken of in the prophecies as " the 
last days," had now oegun ; and this outpouring of the Spirit 
was the proof of it. And he quoted the paragraph including 
the reference to the darkening of the sun, not only because it 
was originally associated with it in the prophecy, but because 
there was an object in showing that these last days were to 
continue until the final closing up of the Messianic dispensa- 
tion. He wished to show to them that the very time had be • 
15 



226 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

gun which should continue until, as he afterwards said to the 
Jews, (ch. iv. 21,) " the times of the restitution of all things, 
which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets 
since the world began." " Yea," continued he, " and all the 
prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as 
have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days." But Joel 
has distinctly predicted, that these days, thus begun, are to 
continue until the restoration of the Jews, and the final over- 
throw of their enemies in the great battle that should result 
in the complete and permanent establishment of Israel in their 
own land. And Peter knew that the prophet, when he spake 
of this darkening of the sun in its relation to associated 
events, described it as occurring at the closing up of the tribu- 
lation of the Jews, at the great battle that should destroy their 
enemies ! As there is not one word in Joel that favors the 
application of this event to the destruction of the Jews, — as 
everything in his prophecy goes against such an applica- 
tion ; — so, in the address of Peter : there is not one word that 
favors such an application ; the scope of his argument did not 
admit it ; his reference to the period of consummation of all 
the prophecies forbids it. Such an application has been his- 
torically proved to be utterly at variance with the recorded 
facts ; it has been proved to be contrary to logic, — reasoning 
from admitted premises ; and it has been incontestibly dem- 
onstrated from the prophecy of Joel itself, that the darkening 
of the sun, &c, relates to a time of general deliverance to the 
Jews, and not to a time of desolation. 

Having now spoken thus lengthily of the prophecy in Joel, 
because it is the one chiefly relied upon to sustain the figura- 
tive interpretation of the verse in Matthew, which relates to 
the darkening of the luminaries, it will be appropriate now to 
offer some observations on the several passages where the 
same or similar language is used, and admitted to be figura- 
tive in its character. 

1. Such passages are always found in the evidently and 
confessedly poetic portions of the prophecies. But the dis- 
course of Christ is simple prose, without a single attempt at 
poetic images and adornment. The advocates of the figura- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 227 

tive theory will admit this, so far as it applies to the discourse 
generally, excepting only the passage in dispute. 

2. In every instance of such use of this language in the 
prophecies there is an explanation of its meaning, and a lit- 
eral application of it, in connection with its figurative use. God 
deemed it not expedient to trust the human mind with such 
metaphors without giving them his own explanation. This 
most extraordinary and important fact, so far as the writer 
recollects, has never yet been published. We will notice all the 
texts which are usually quoted to justify the figurative inter- 
pretation of the passage in Matthew. The first is Isa. xiii. 9, 
10. " Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with 
wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate : and he shall 
destroy the sinners out of it. For the stars of heaven and the 
constellations thereof shall not give their light : the sun shall 
be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause 
her light to shine." After this figurative description follows 
the literal explanation, which, in so many words, tells us that 
it refers to the overthrow of Babylon by the Medes. 

The next is Isa. xxxiv. 4. " And all the host of heaven 
shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together 
as a scroll ; and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf fall- 
eth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig-tree." 
Then the prophet goes right on to say expressly that it applies 
to the desolation of Idumea. 

Jeremiah xv. 9, may be considered, perhaps, in some 
measure an example of such use of language. "Whether it is 
or not, the context gives a literal and clear application of the 
language to the judgments of God upon Jerusalem and the 
nation, on account of the sin of Manasseh, the king. 

The next passage is Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8. " And when I put 
thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof 
dark ; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall 
not give her light." Then it goes right on to say expressly 
that it refers to the desolation of Egypt by the Icing of Babylon. 

Amos viii. 9, is usually quoted as another example. " And 
it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I 
will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the 



228 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

earth in the clear day." This is both preceded and followed 
by clear and literal applications to the judgments of God 
upon the Jews for their oppression and idolatry. Daniel viii. 
10, is also referred to. " And it waxed great, even to the 
host of heaven ; and it cast down some of the host and of 
the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them." This is 
a symbolical representation of the doings of one of the suc- 
cessors of the Grecian king, and is thus literally explained 
and applied in connection with the account of the vision. 

Another reference is to Joel ii. 10, 11. " The earth shall 
quake before them ; the heavens shall tremble ; the sun and 
the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their 
shining. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army ; 
for his camp is very great ; for he is strong that executeth his 
word ; for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible ; 
and who can abide it ? " This is preceded by a description of 
a visitation of the locusts, under the idea of an army ; and is 
followed by a plain statement (verses 20, 25,) of the fact that 
it means a visitation of locusts and other destructive insects. 
Then follows the passage in verse 30, 31, of which so much 
has already been said. Now, let it be distinctly noticed, that, 
if this is figurative language, it is an exception to all the 
other passages, for it is nowhe?*e explained ! This ought of 
itself to be deemed decisive of its literal character. Although 
it is nowhere explained, it is elsewhere applied ; for in the 
third chapter, where the time and the events are more dis- 
tinctly described, it is applied to the time of God's deliverance 
of the children of Israel, and the destruction of their ene- 
mies, at the final redemption from captivity. 

If anything more need to be said to show the utter failure 
of the common attempts to justify the figurative interpreta- 
tion of the darkening of the heavens, as described in Joel, 
and in our Lord's discourse, it should be by way of inquiry 
into the origin and propriety of metaphorical language. The 
argument can only be touched upon in this connection, as it 
is too extensive, and perhaps not sufficiently relevant for the 
subject of the Exposition. A few observations only will be 
submitted. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 229 

(1.) The use of metaphoric language implies a knowledge 
or idea of what would be understood if such language were 
applied literally. No one ever uses figures without having in 
view the literal things from which the figures are derived. 
If we speak of a man as the pillar of the state, we have in 
view the nature of a literal column at the same time. If we 
say Christianity is the sun of the world, it implies that we 
have a previous understanding of the nature and fact of the 
sun. 

(2.) Now, whence did this ancient figurative use of the 
darkening of the luminaries arise ? How did it happen that 
it was so common for the prophets to speak of ordinary, lim- 
ited judgments, in language which all admit would, if used 
literally, apply to the general judgment? How became it so 
common to speak metaphorically of the darkening of the 
sun, moon, and stars, and the passing away of the heavens ? 
Figures are the shadow of the literal. Where is the substance 
that originates the shadow % Metaphors are borrowed from 
literal speech. "Where is the literal speech, and the revela- 
tion of the literal idea, of the blotting out of the bright 
heavens, and the downfall of the world ? 

(3.) This question is to be settled by those who seize upon 
every reference to these great events, and pronounce them 
figurative. Will they please to tell us where there is a spot 
in all the Bible where the literalist may plant his feet, and 
stand up in defence of orthodoxy, and give a philosophical 
explanation of the commonness of such language as appears 
to refer to the day of judgment? 



230 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Prmcvpal subject — Darkening of the Luminaries, and the 

ATTENDING CIRCUMSTANCES. 

Preliminaries — Plan of the Argument — "The Tribulation of those days"— • 
The days denned — Important Consideration — An Omitted Verse — How 
long the Time is to last — -Conclusion of this branch of the Argument- 
Darkening the Luminaries — An Error of the Literalists — Nature of Meta- 
phorical Language — Where is the Original? — How the Scriptures speak 
to men — Important Distinction — The Prophecy of Joel and of Christ 
compared — The specific Time and Circumstances of Darkening the Lumina- 
ries — Parallel Predictions — Parallelism of Times and Events — Gog and 
Magog — Objection, that St. John describes the great Battle as taking 
plixe after the Millenium — John and Ezekiel Harmonized — Different Ex- 
positions compared. 

Verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun 

BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON SHALL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT, AND THE STARS SHALL FALL 
FROM HEAVEN. \Luke .' AND UPON THE EARTH DISTRESS OF NATIONS, WITH PERPLEXI- 
TY J THE SEA AND THE WaVES ROARING J MEN'S HEARTS FAILING THEM FOR FEAR, AND 
FOR LOOKING AFTER THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE COMING ON THE EARTH j] AND THE 
POWERS OF THE HEAVENS SHALL BE SHAKEN. 

Having disposed of the figurative method of interpreting 
this passage, the true exposition will now be given. Up to 
this point there has not yet occurred a single instance of 
departure from a literal rendering of our Lord's language. 
And the inconsistency and ruinous results of the metaphorical 
exposition of this passage, have been sufficiently shown. 
There is no more necessity for departing from the literal in 
this passage than in any of the previous portions. Aud it 
may be expedient to remark, before proceeding further, that 
as there has been no departure from strict orthodoxy in €he 
previous annotations, so there will be none in the comments 
on this and the subsequent passages. The doctrines of the 
church, as set forth in reliable standards, will be rigidly main- 
tained throughout the Treatise. 

The method of procedure in this part of the discussion 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 231 

will be, 1. To show what is meant by the " Tribulation of 
those days." 2. What is meant by the darkening of the lu- 
minaries "immediately after." 3. Who will be the subjects 
of the perplexity and distress, on the occurrence of these 
wonders. 

I. "The Tribulation of those days" is to be explained. 

1. The remark, that the relative pronoun must refer to its 
antecedent, may appear so trite as hardly to justify its repe- 
tition. But there is a positive propriety in refreshing the 
memory with this most familiar and self-evident truth. The 
word " those" then, must refer to something which had pre- 
viously been the subject of remark. And " those days" must, 
consequently refer to some days previously described. 

2. Now, we learn from the passage itself that the days 
referred to were days of " tribulation / " and the scope of 
the passage, particularly as recorded by Luke, shows that the 
days of tribulation last mentioned, were days of tribulation 
particularly to the Jews. " For there shall be great distress 
in the land, and wrath upon this people." It is evident, then, 
that the " tribulation of those days" means the period of 
affliction of the Jewish land and people, of which the Lord 
had previously spoken. 

3. There is one other remark that should be introduced in 
this connection : where two things are referred to for the pur- 
pose of distinguishing them from each other, and the word 
these is used in connection with those, then the relative those 
does not refer to the things last spoken of, but to things fur- 
ther back in the discourse. Now, in the case before us, as those 
is not used to distinguish between different times or things that 
have been previously mentioned, it must refer to the described 
days of tribulation, without any restriction : it must include 
all that had been mentioned of that description ; and espe- 
cially such as was so prominent or remarkable as to have, 
particularly impressed the memory ; — otherwise, the antece- 
dent of the relative would be so uncertain as to leave the. 
hearer or reader in doubt respecting the teacher's meaning. 
Such being the relation of those in the passage before us, 



232 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

there can be no propriety in the supposition that it does not 
include all the tribulation, as far as it had been particularly 
described. If we can ascertain, then, how long the tribula- 
tion mentioned was to continue, we can understand with 
certainty one thing in relation to the signs that were to follow 
" immediately after ; " we can ascertain a time before which 
the signs should not transpire, though we may not be able to 
define how soon after. For as the signs were to be after the 
tribulation was ended, so far as it had been described; when 
we have ascertained how long those days were to continue, 
we have ascertained a period during which, and before which 
there can be no propriety in looking for the manifestation of 
the signs. And this of itself should be deemed conclusive 
against any assertion or conjecture concerning the predicted 
signs, if they happened before, or during, the period of tribu- 
lation to which reference is had by the relative those. 

(4.) One thing further; — in defining the "tribulation of 
those days," we are not to rely upon the assertions, fancies, 
or conjectures of men : we are to depend on the Lord's own 
declaration ; not on what he did not say ; not* on what he may 
be supposed to have said or intended ; but on what he did 
say. And now the inquiry arises, — in making up our judg- 
ment of what the Lord intended, shall we base our conclusion 
on only a part of his words, or shall we found it upon a con- 
sideration of all that is preserved of his discourse f There 
can be but one rational answer ; and yet who would suppose 
from the usual method of settling the question of the continu- 
ance of those days, that any very great importance was to be 
attached to an omission from the record of Matthew and 
Mark, which is supplied only by Luke ? The supplementary 
verse has not only been usually misplaced in the gospel Har- 
monies, but it has been almost entirely neglected in the com- 
ments on the twenty-fourth of Matthew. It is hardly allowed 
a respectable reference. To use an expressive, though not an 
elegant, word, the supplementary verse from Luke has been 
almost ignored out of existence, so far as it relates to the ex- 
position of the twenty-fourth of Matthew. And yet our Lord 
just as certainly uttered the words recorded in Luke xxi. 24, 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 233 

as the words in Matt. xxiv. 29, or any other verse in the 
chapter. And is that supplementary verse of such little 
signification and importance as to be of no influence in the 
exegesis of the 29th verse of Matthew ? Does it not bear 
upon its very face character of the greatest consequence in 
determining the days of that tribulation f 

(5.) In relation to the position which the supplementary 
verse occupies in the accompanying Harmony, nothing more 
need to be said ; the reader is requested to examine again, if 
necessary, the argument on that point, in its proper place in 
the Exposition. 

Let all that is preserved of our Lord's discourse be brought 
together in its proper order, and then it will not be difficult to 
determine the question concerning how long the tribulation 
referred to is to continue. 

(6.) After our Lord had brought down his description of 
Jewish suffering to the siege of Jerusalem, and had given al- 
so predictions of some things which happened during the 
siege, did he pause then, in that department of his prophecy, 
and begin to speak of the signs in the heavens aud earth f !No ; 

HE CONTINUED HIS DISCOURSE ON THE SAME GENERAL SUBJECT OP 
TRIBULATION DOWN TO THE PERIOD OF THE TERMINATION OF THE 

affliction, and then he proceeded to speak of the signs in the 
heavens, <&c. 

(7.) The connection of the 29th verse of Matthew will ap- 
pear from reading the record of Matthew as amended by the 
supplementary verse from Luke. And it will appear from 
the very face of the words that the tribulation last spoken of 
previously to the 29th verse of Matthew, began at the siege, 
or at least at the downfall, of the city, and reaches forward 
even to the fullness of the Gentiles, and the here implied, (but 
elsewhere predicted,) redemption and restoration of the city to 
the Jews. Matt., verse 28 : " For wheresoever the carcass is, 
there will the eagles be gathered together." Luke, verse 24 : 
" And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be 
led away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be 
trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles 



234: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

be fulfilled." Matt., verse 29 : " Immediately after the trib- 
ulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened," &c. 

(8.) Now, here were days of tribulation just as really, and 
just as distinctly pointed out, as the tribulation before, and 
during, the siege. And these days of tribulation yet con- 
tinue ; and are to continue until the specified time of termi- 
nation. And there ought not to be any doubt that the rela- 
tive those in the verse under comment, referred to this very, 
this long continued, period of affliction ; for, whether all do, 
or do not, admit the propriety of placing the supplementary 
verse in the precise location that it sustains in this Harmony ; 
yet all do, and must, admit that it belongs somewhere before 
the verse under comment ; and it must, then, of course, be 
included in that period of tribulation of which the Lord had 
been speaking, and to which the relative those referred. 

(9.) Besides, as it must have been remarked in the previous 
sections of the discourse, our Lord paid the strictest regard to 
the chronological succession of events, as they affected the 
same class of persons ; he never confuses or reverses the or- 
der of things, but describes them as if they were passing be- 
fore his omniscient eye in regular panoramic succession. And, 
in the very nature of the case, the chronological order of the 
events described in the verse from Luke, not only required 
that it should be placed before the verse relating to the signs 
in heaven, as it is in Luke ; but, also, that it should be placed 
after the verse relating to the siege of Jerusalem. If so, 
then the order must be as it is presented in this Harmony ; 
and the " tribulation of those days " refers as specifically to 
this yet continuing period of affliction as to anything pre- 
vious. But see this argument more fully presented in the 
comment on the passage in question. 

(10.) Here, then, we have direct, affirmative proof that the 
signs in the heavens relate to something else than the down- 
fall of the Jewish nation. "What may be called the negative 
argument — though it implies the affirmative — has been more 
fully exhibited in the last chapter. But now we have the af- 
firmative proof that the signs in the heavens have not yet 



HAUMONY AND EXPOSITION. 235 

transpired, because the time for them has not yet arrived. 
Those days of tribulation, as Christ himself affirms, are to in- 
clude all that has been foretold by the prophets. Luke, verse 
22 : " For these be the days of vengeance, that all things 
which are written may be fulfilled." ]Sow, the Lord did not, 
and could not, mean, that all things foretold were to happen 
at any one particular time of those days, because the prophe- 
cies speak of a long continued succession, age after age, of 
tribulation. He undoubtedly meant to apprise them that the 
ages of affliction had begun, and they were to expect all those 
terrible judgments, which had been foretold. 

(11.) But the same prophets — particularly Moses — whoso 
clearly foretold that beginning of those tribulations which 
were then witnessed, just as distinctly predicted the continu- 
ance of them through a succession of ages not yet termina- 
ted. The predicted days of IsraeVs distress and desolation 
had then begun. How long were they to continue ? Answer : 
Until " all things that are written may be fulfilled." These 
were the days ; Jerusalem's destruction was but one of the 
earlier calamities ; ages of tribulation are to follow, for they 
have been foretold by the prophets, and the time has not yet 
expired.* 

(12.) In concluding, then, that the days of tribulation to 
which the relative those refers, were not limited by the fall of 
Jerusalem, we are sustained by these several considerations : 

First. The prophecies of the Old Testament favor it. 

Second. Christ's reference to those prophecies, and his dec- 
laration concerning their being entirely fulfilled during the 
" days of vengeance " of which he was speaking, should be 
regarded as a demonstration. 

Third. The connection and specific teaching of the verse 
from Luke ought to be considered a positive proof of the 
justness of the conclusion. 

Fourth. The utter insufficiency, the logical absurdity, the 
self-contradiction, and the downright variance with the facts 
in the case, which characterize the attempts to apply the verse 

* See note D, in the Appendix. 



236 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

under comment to the occurrences of the war under the Ro- 
mans, ought to drive any man in disgust from - such an exposi- 
tion, whether he finds any other theory of interpretation or not. 

Fifth. The prophecy in Joel proves that the time is yet in 
the future. 

Sixth. There is a plain, scriptural exposition of the passage. 

II. We are next to consider the darkening of the lumina- 
ries of heaven, immediately after the tribulation of those 
days. 

(1.) Those who have fancied that this darkening took place 
at, before, or soon after, the destruction of Jerusalem, have 
not wandered more widely from the truth, than those who 
have endeavored to find the fulfillment of the prediction in 
the unusual conditions of the atmosphere, or in the remarka- 
ble revolutions of the nations, since that time. All have 
equally overlooked the plain, Scripture teaching that it will 
not occur until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, and Je- 
rusalem ceases to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles. It 
is really surprising that those who profess to be literalists are 
so prone to fix upon almost anything as a fulfillment of this 
prediction, without the least regard for the fact, that it will 
not occur until the Jews again become possessed of Jerusa- 
lem, and, as Joel describes it, the nations of the world com- 
bine and meet in the vicinity of the city to fight with the 
Jews. 

(2.) If' a man professes to disregard the literal teaching of 
the prophecies, and holds himself under no obligation to be- 
lieve what the Bible says, but allows his imagination full play, 
to conjecture what he thinks lies hidden under a veil of ap- 
parently literal teaching ; — in such case there is nothing to 
surprise us in the innumerable and unscriptural fictions which 
are so pleasing to human fancy. But where there is a dispo- 
sition to censure the fanciful expositors, and a claim to be- 
lieve what the Bible says, — it is astonishing that such errors 
as have been rife among us for a few years past, in relation 
to the second advent, should be countenanced and defended 
with a zeal worthy of truth itself. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 237 

(3.) Tne author of this Exposition, after becoming wearied, 
and, in some instances, disgusted, with the examination of the 
common figurative expositions of this, and similar passages, 
has deliberately, solemnly, and unchangeably determined to 
be a literalist throughout in his exegesis of the imfigurative 
portions of the Bible ; and in the figurative portions he de- 
termines to be guided by what is, in connection, or elsewhere, 
taught in literal prose. He understands precisely what he 
means in this declaration, and holds himself in readiness to 
meet the consequences of abiding by it. One thing is cer- 
tain, — if he errs in this matter, he will have this to console 
him, that he honestly understood God to mean what he was 
pleased to reveal. 

(4.) In giving a philosophical account of the origin and 
commonness of the metaphorical use of language, which, ap- 
plied literally, would naturally belong to the scenes of the 
closing up of this world's probation, — it would be necessary 
to suppose that the people were acquainted, and, to some ex- 
tent, familiar with, the great revelation that the world is des- 
tined to be renewed at the second coming of Christ. And as 
there is nothing in nature that teaches this doctrine, we must 
suppose that it was made originally, and renewed occasional- 
ly, by revelation from heaven. 

(5.) But where are those intimations and revelations of this 
great truth which the church in all ages has fixed upon as 
principal stones in the foundation of orthodoxy ? 

They must be somewhere in the writings of the prophets, 
if the church has spoken, in this matter, " according to the 
oracles of God." But where are those revelations of this 
truth, if our commentators may explain every thing of this 
kind in a figurative manner ? Where is there one text which 
they admit to be purely and independently literal ? If the 
prophecy of Joel does not contain such a revelation, it is not 
to be found tn the Old Testament ! And if the text imder 
comment does not contain such a revelation, rr is not to be 

FOUND IN THE New TESTAMENT ! 

(6.) There is just this one remark further, at the present posi- 
tion in the argument : The Bible speaks to the common mind, 



238 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

— not with strict philosophic precision, as things would be 
treated in a scientific discourse, — but as things appear to the 
general mind. In other words, the Bible speaks, as we con- 
verse and preach, in the ordinary language of our hearers, 
and with a designed adaptation to the common capacity. 
Hence, the darkening of the sun and moon, and the falling 
of the stars, are to be understood as so appearing to those 
who may be witnesses of the awful events. How the phe- 
nomena may be explained scientifically, forms no part of the 
present design. When men have given a satifactory scientific 
explanation of the sun and moon standing still in the days of 
Joshua, or of the sun being darkened three hours at the cru- 
cifixion of Christ, then it will be time for the author to go 
beyond the facts of revelation, and attempt the philosophic 
solution of the mysteries which are hidden with God. 

(7.) If the prophets ever taught that Israel and Judah 
should be scattered among the nations ; if they ever foretold 
the downfall of their metropolis, and the possession of their 
land by others ; if they ever predicted the ultimate triumph 
of Messiah's kingdom ; they have just as clearly taught that 
the present tribulation and dispersion of the children of Israel 
should finally be brought to a termination, and they again 
brought back to the everlasting possession of their own land. 
The predictions of the restoration and conversion are so defi- 
nite, so full, so frequent, and so connected with other matters 
that we know to be literal, that we cannot consistently deny 
the latter without wholly denying the former. Our commen- 
tators, our hymnologists, our most influential preachers of all 
evangelical churches, are constrained to admit the doctrine of 
Israel's future conversion and restoration ; and it is generally 
admitted that St. Paul argued the matter by appealing to the 
prophecies. 

(8.) Now, there is not, probably, a plainer prediction of 
these things than in the second and third chapters of Joel, al- 
though the same things are taught elsewhere with a fullness 
and a definiteness that remove all reasonable occasion of mis- 
interpretation in respect to the principal events. And the 
divines who see fit to refer the prophecy of Joel to the down- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 239 

fall of the Jewish nation, are compelled to admit that, prima- 
rily or secondarily, suggestively or typically, it refers also to 
the closing up of the present dispensation of things. The 
truth of these observations will be admitted by all who have 
examined the subject. 

(9.) Before proceeding to apply these extended remarks to 
the exposition of the verse under comment, the reader is de- 
sired particularly to acquaint himself with the preceding ar- 
gument on the identity of the time and events described in 
the latter part of the second chapter of Joel and the whole of 
the third chapter. He will then perceive that the prophet 
has gone over precisely the same period of time that is else- 
where described as the times, the days, or the age, of the Mes- 
siah ; a period that begins with the setting up of the king- 
dom, and extending to the complete establishment of it, either 
by the conversion or destruction of the nations. It is a peri- 
od which opens with an outpouring of the Spirit upon all 
flesh ; not all flesh in extent, as including all people; but all 
flesh in variety of condition, as excluding none. But the 
prophecy was not to be limited to that first outpouring, and 
to that first ingathering, as of the first fruits of the general 
harvest. The period still continues ; and we of this genera- 
tion may claim the same promise, and so may all generations 
until the great day of the Lord. 

(10.) "Before the great and terrible day of the Lord come," 
which will hereafter be explained, the sun shall be darkened, 
and the moon turned to blood, and the stars withdraw their 
shining. The time of this change in the luminaries of heaven 
is clearly indicated both by Christ and by the prophet Joel. 
It will be (Joel iii. 1) at that period of time when God "shall 
bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem." That is, 
as has already been shown by numerous quotations to the same 
effect, at the period when " God shall set his hand the second 
time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left." 
Isa. xi. 11. " For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I 
will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, 
saith the Lord : and I will cause them to return to the land 



240 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it." Jere- 
miah, xxx. 3. 

(11.) It appears, however, that the Jews will not be permit- 
ted to possess their own land withont a great conflict with the 
Gentile nations. (Joel iii. 2.) " I will also gather all nations, 
and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshajphat, 
[Hebrew — valley of the judgment of God,] and will plead 
with them there for my people and for my heritage, Israel, 
whom they have scattered among the* nations, and parted my 
land." Yerse 7. " Behold, I will raise them out of the place 
whither ye have sold them, and will return you recompense 
upon your own head." After a description of the preparation 
for the general war, and the gathering of the nations in the 
valley of God's judgment, called also the " valley of decision" 
God says, (verse 12,) " For there will I sit to judge all the hea- 
then round about." Then comes the description of the mighty 
gathering : (Yerse 14,) " Multitudes, multitudes in the valley 
of decision : for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of 
decision." 

(12.) And now occurs the darkening of the luminaries of 
heaven. Multitudes upon multitudes have been gathered 
from " all nations" into the judgment valley — " the valley of 
decision." They come with weapons of war to fight against 
God's " heritage, Israel ;" and God is going to " plead with 
them there for his people." " The harvest is ripe ;" " the press 
is full ; the fats overflow." The times of the Gentiles are now 
fulfilled. God now says, " For there [in the valley of decis- 
ion] will I sit to judge all the heathen round about." The 
times of affliction for Israel are now ended : " the tribulation 
of those days" is over ; God is now going to recompense the 
heathen of all nations upon their own head, as he pleads 
with them in behalf of his people. 

(13.) But how is it done ? It is done as God has done be- 
fore : nature, with all its elements, is made to do God's battle- 
service. The first thing is to involve them in utter darkness, 
as he once did the Egyptians, and as was done also at the 
crucifixion. Yerse 15. " The sun and the moon shall be 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 24J. 

darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." The 
moon will seem to turn to blood, and the stars shall appear 
to fall from heaven. God's people shall now see, as their fa- 
thers did, the terrible interposition of Jehovah in their be- 
half; and the multitudes assembled against them shall be met 
and vanquished by the Almighty himself, as lesser armies had 
been before. 

(14.) Yerse 16. " The Lord shall also roar out of Zion, and 
utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the 
earth shall shake." God will roar against them with that 
dreadful voice that terrified the Israelites around Mount Si- 
nai. See Exodus xix. 16-20. " There were thunderings, and 
lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice 
of the trumpet exceeding loud ; so that all the people that 
were in the camp trembled." Some such terrible interposi- 
tion of God will now be seen in behalf of his people ; and 
the voice and roar that shake the earth and heaven, will be 
attended by commotions in the elements around : " the sea 
and the waves roaring." The earth, the sea, the sky, will be 
terribly affected ; and the whole demonstration will be against 
the multitudes upon multitudes in the valley of judgment. 
The sun as in sackcloth, the moon crimsoned, the falling and 
extinguished stars, the roar and voice of God from Jerusalem 
that makes the earth and heaven tremble, and the waves of 
the sea roaring with the horrible commotion ; — all of these 
things shall bring about what the Saviour next describes : 
Luke, [And upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexi- 
ty : the sea and the waves roaring / men's hearts failing them 
for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming 
on the earth / for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.] 

(15.) This is God's method of pleading with the nations in 
behalf of his heritage Israel. For, (Joel iii. 16,) in the midst 
of this terrible demonstration against the assembled nations, 
" The Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength 
of the children of Israel." It will be the set time to favor 
Zion. The God who did wonders in Egypt, at the Ked Sea, 
at Sinai, at Gibeon, and at other times when he vanouished 
Israel's enemies ; the God who had seemed to cast away his 
16 



242 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

people whom he foreknew, will at this time return to save his 
people, and to accomplish all the blessings that were prom- 
ised to them in the latter days, when they should return to 
the Lord. This is undoubtedly the great battle between Gog 
and Magog and the children of Israel, which is so graphically 
described in Ezekiel, chapters xxxviii. and xxxix., which the 
reader is earnestly desired now to read. 

(16.) The correspondency between our Lord's predictions 
and those of the Old Testament, is wonderful. We find a cor- 
respondency, first, in the fact that the things predicted by him 
in the passage now under comment, occur in the exact order 
which is observable in the prophets ; namely, " Immediately 
after the tribulation of those days," which Moses as well as him- 
self had distinctly predicted as continuing until the final restora- 
tion of Israel to their own land. (Our Lord's prediction of this 
will hereafter be noticed.) Second. There is a corresponden- 
cy in the signs themselves ; only our Lord is more particular 
in describing the effect upon the nations. Thirdly. As will 
immediately be shown, the coming of the Lord in the midst 
of this darkness, and elemental commotion, and general dis- 
tress of the nations to redeem his elect, (Luke, verse 28,) has a 
perfect correspondency with the prophets' declaration, that it 
should be to redeem his people, as will be found by reading 
Joel and the parallel prophecies. 

(17.) It is not strictly necessary to the exposition, that the 
prophecies of the Old Testament should further occupy our 
attention in this connection ; but still, in order to throw addi- 
tional light on the time when these wonders in heaven and 
earth shall be exhibited, in behalf of God's heritage, and, of 
course, against Israel's enemies ; — and especially to show still 
further the impropriety of applying the prophecy in Joel to 
the downfall of the Jewish nation ; — for these reasons, and 
others that might be mentioned, the reader's attention may 
be detained for a little for the purpose of considering one of 
the parallel prophecies to which reference has already been 
made. Our Saviour and Joel seem to have had distinctly in 
view the terrible judgments of God upon the assembled na- 
tions of Israel's enemies, at the closing up of the present dis- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 243 

pensation of things. In order to exhibit this parallelism more 
distinctly, attention will be directed to several things which 
strikingly identify the time and the occasion of the divine 
manifestation in behalf of the ancient covenant people. 

(18.) The first thing we notice from our Saviour's predic- 
tion is, that it should not be during the continuance of the 
days of the tribulation of which he had been speaking. And 
it is undeniable that he had spoken of their tribulation in all 
its days of continuance to the time when Jerusalem should be 
trodden down by the Gentiles no longer ; when the times of 
the Gentiles should be fulfilled. Our Lord had declared in 
so many words that the days of calamity, and of Jerusalem's 
oppression, should continue so long, and until that time. And 
then he added, " Immediately after the tribulation of those 
days, shall the sun be darkened," &c. Now this is precisely 
what Joel teaches, as has been sufficiently shown in the pre- 
ceding sections ; it should be at the time when the Lord shall 
" bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem ; " and 
when he should assemble all nations in the " valley of judg- 
ment," or " decision," at the time when they should gather 
to fight against the Jews. And this is evidently parallel with 
the prophecy of the gathering of Gog and Magog, at the same 
time, and for the same purpose. 

(19.) In the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth of Ezekiel we have 
general, but very distinct, declarations of God's purpose in 
respect to his ancient heritage. In the thirty-seventh we have 
the matter exhibited in the form of a vision ; and accompa- 
nied by GooVs own explanation of what the vision signified / 
Then in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters, we have 
a particular account of the gathering of the nations against 
the Jews, and God's terrible interposition in behalf of his 
people, by the judgments upon their enemies. In the thirty- 
eighth we have God's address to Israel's enemies, as we have 
also in Joel iii. Yerse 8. " After many days thou [Israel's 
enemies] shall be visited : in the latter years thou should come 
into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is 
gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, 
which have been always waste : but is brought forth out of 



244 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. 9. Thou 
shalt ascend and come like a storm ; thou shalt be like a cloud 
to cover the land ; thou, and all thy bands, and many people 
with thee. 15. And thou shalt come from thy place out of 
the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them 
riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16. 
And thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud 
to cover the land ; it shall be in the latter days ; and I will 
bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, 
when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 
17. Thussaith the Lord God; Art thou he of whom I have spo- 
ken in old time, by my servants the prophets of Israel, which 
prophesied in those days many years, that I would bring thee 
against them ? 18. And it shall come to pass at the same 
time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith 
the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19. 
For in my jealousy, and in the fire of my wrath, have I spo- 
ken. Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the 
land of Israel. 20. So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls 
of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping 
things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are up- 
on the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the 
mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall 
fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21. And I will 
call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, 
saith the Lord God : every man's sword shall be against his 
brother. 22. And I will plead against him with pestilence 
and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, 
cmd upon tJie many people that are with him, an overflowing 
rain, and great hail-stones, fire and brimstone. 23. Thus 
will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be 
known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that 
I am the Lord." 

(20.) Now who can fail to perceive here a parallel with the 
prophecy of Joel ? It relates to the same time of gathering 
in the captivity of the Jews. It speaks of the same gather- 
ing of the multitudes of their enemies into the land to fight 
against Israel. It alludes to the same terrible shaking of earth, 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 245 

sea, and heaven, when God interferes in behalf of his heritage 
Israel. In both places this is spoken of as God's pleading with 
them then in behalf of Israel. In both places it represents 
the result as a total overthrow of Israel's enemies, and a per- 
fect and permanent establishment of Israel in their own conn- 
try. And what is worthy of especial notice, in the prophecy 
by Ezekiel (xxxviii. 17,) this same gathering and judgment of 
the heathen, and Israel's redemption, are declared to have 
been spoken of by the prophets of a former period. And 
we should observe that Joel prophesied before Ezekiel. 

(21.) " In those days, and at that time," then, according to 
the prophets, will occur this terrible judgment that shall dark- 
en the heavens and convulse the earth and sea. Then will 
be the judgment and punishment of the nations, and the re- 
demption of God's " heritage Israel," that they may dwell 
forevermore in their own land in peace and purity. This, 
then, as our Lord himself declared, is only the fulfillment 
of the things that have been written. And the tribula- 
tion that was experienced by the Jews during the Roman 
war, was only the beginning of the sorrows that have been 
predicted, and that shall continue until all that has been fore- 
told shall be accomplished. And "immediately after the 
tribulation of those days," shall the wonders in heaven, 
and the commotions among nations occur, and the divine 
glory will be manifested in the judgments which shall de- 
stroy the ungodly. 

(22.) There is one specific objection that may be urged 
against this conclusion respecting the time of the fulfillment 
of this part of the prediction : it is this : John, in Revelation 
xx. 8, represents the battle of Gog and Magog as occurring 
after the Millenium ; whereas, Ezekiel clearly represents it 
as occurring at the conclusion of the present days of Israel's 
tribulation, which we cannot suppose will last during the 
thousand years of holiness and peace. 

(23.) The reply to this objection is very easy, and ought to 
be deemed satisfactory. 

In the first place, nothing would be gained to either side of 
this controversy, by supposing that Ezekiel and John contra- 



246 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

dieted each other. It cannot be deemed admissible that there 
is any such contradiction in the Bible. 

In the second place, the prophecy of Ezekiel is so clearly 
parallel with many others, as it respects the tdme of the ful- 
fillment, that there is no room for a doubt of its being at the 
close of the present period of Israel's dispersion. And if one 
prophet must be explained by another, the one ought to be 
explained by the many ; the less clear and literal, by those 
that are more easily understood. In the third place, and par- 
ticularly Ezekiel and John are in the most delightful harmo- 
ny ; and it is precisely the character of the harmony which 
the book of Revelation so conspicuously displays in its rela- 
tions to the other parts of the prophetic Scriptures. 

This is the agreement between John and Ezekiel : what 
Ezekiel represents literally, as the closing up of the ante-mil- 
lennial dispensation, John uses symbolically to illustrate the 
closing up of the Millennium itself. And this is precisely the 
leading characteristic of this part of John's writings : He 
uses the prophecies and histories of the literal as symbols to 
represent something else, and similar events of other times. 
Prophecies and histories respecting literal Jerusalem, he uses 
symbolically to describe the church in its future glory. Proph- 
ecies and histories which were applicable literally only to 
Babylon on the Euphrates, he uses symbolically to illustrate 
the Papal abomination. Home literal, in its situation, domi- 
nation and character, is made a symbol of Home spiritual. 
Now this character of John's Revelation is sufficiently evi- 
dent ; and no one ever thought of stumbling, because he could 
not harmonize the chronology between John's symbolical Je- 
rusalem, Babylon, and Pome, and the literal cities whose 
characters and destinies furnished him with some of the prin- 
cipal actors in his symbolical drama. And why need wa 
stumble because his symbolical Gog and Magog do not come 
upon the stage just when the literal did.* Why does he us^ 
Jerusalem, Babylon, Pome, and other things to illustrate his 
d/ramaf Because such things had existed literally and had 

*See Note E. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 247 

become subjects of prophetic and historic knowledge ; and, 
therefore, in this way, by using them, he could convey a vol- 
ume of meaning in a single verse. 

(25.) And, if any object,that he has used as a symbol something 
of which we are yet in doubt, — something which is still future 
to us, — the answer is ready : He wrote this part of his Rev- 
elation for the special admonition of those who will survive 
during the Millennium, and will be in danger at the close of 
that period of being deceived by the devil, who will then for a 
little season be released from prison. And at that time, the 
history of Gog and Magog will be as well understood as is 
now the history of Babylon or Rome. And we might as well 
suppose that there will be no literal resurrection, because it is 
sometimes used symbolically, as in Ezek. xxxvii., — or that 
there was no literal Jerusalem, because it was used symboli- 
cally, — as to suppose there will be no Gog and Magog at the 
close of the present dispensation, because they are used sym- 
bolically to illustrate the close of the Millennium. The figu- 
rative proves, rather than ^proves, the literal. 

(26.) Two things are here worthy of remembrance : First. 
That the gathering of the Jews, and the great and decisive de- 
struction of their enemies, are so evidently taught in the proph- 
ecies, that almost all divines are constrained to admit the literal 
fulfillment of, at least, the principal things predicted. It is 
to be regretted, however, that so few have spoken out dis- 
tinctly concerning those things which they are constrained to 
admit. Another thing to be remembered is, — that the lan- 
guage of our Saviour, in the part of his discourse now under 
notice, is generally admitted to be applicable to the very time 
to which it is referred in this Exposition. Even those who 
are most confident in their application of the whole to Jewish 
affairs, admit that it may refer to the day of Judgment. 

(27.) Even Dr. Scott, after referring it specifically to Jew- 
ish matters, closes thus : " But the whole passage will have 
a more literal and far more august accomplishment, at the day 
of judgment." Dr. Clarke, who seems unwilling to allow any 
part of the twenty-fourth chapter to refer to the day of judg- 
ment, nevertheless concedes that the 1st verse of the twenty- 



248 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

fifth chapter refers to the day of judgment, in connection with 
a reference to Jewish and Roman affairs. Yet our Lord him- 
self limits the application of the twenty -fifth chapter to the 
times described in, at least, the closing part of the twenty- 
fourth, by introducing his parable by a " Tlien" which ought 
to be considered sufficiently specific in defining the time. Dr. 
Benson acknowledges that our Lord spoke of both events at 
the same time, one being considered as a type of the other. 
Dr. Coke expresses himself in about the same manner. Bur- 
kitt admits that some part of the chapter may refer to the day of 
judgment. Watson considers it a clear example of double 
prophecy ; one event illustrating the other. Barnes expresses 
the same conviction. Wesley is positive that our Lord here 
begins to speak of his coming to judge the world. Dr. Rob- 
inson admits that from verse 43, the discourse refers to the 
day of judgment. 

(28.) It appears, then, from the admission of all, or nearly 
all, of the divines most commonly in use in this country, that 
at some place or other in this discourse, and in some form or 
other, the Lord did speak of his second coming to judge the 
world. Why not, then, suppose that he began just where it 
came in chronological order, and in accordancy with the teach- 
ing of the prophets, and introduced the subject in close sub- 
sequent connection with the termination of the tribulation of 
God's ancient people. If the darkening of the luminaries of 
heaven is to be one of the signs of the judgment, where is it 
taught, if not in Joel and in Matthew ? Where do our stan- 
dard hymnologists and preachers obtain authority to promul- 
gate such views to the church, if not from Joel and from 
Christ? Surely they will not refer to similar expressions, 
where there is in connection a specific application of the lan- 
guage to other events. They must go to Joel and to Christ. 
And, if so, why not suppose that Christ and the prophet re- 
ferred specifically to the great event ? 

(29.) The only difference between this Exposition and most 
others, on this point is, that here the application is decided, 
literal, definite ; and, in the others, the application is rather 
to be inferred — ■ a sort of may be, instead of must be. And 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 249 

then the application usually comes rather in the form of a 
concession, as if it was with reluctance, rather than with clear, 
definite perception of the necessity of such application. And 
there is usually a loading upon Jerusalem and the Jews just 
as much as can possibly be made to take that direction, and 
the rest is thought to refer to the judgment. To this general 
state of things, two noble exceptions have come under the 
writer's notice : they are Wesley's Notes* and Henry's Expo- 
sition. Doubtless there are some others, but the writer has 
not had the good fortune to obtain them. 



CHAPTER X. 

Principal subject — The Coming of Christ. Examination op 

SEVERAL RELEVANT SUBJECTS. 

How the Subject is Introduced — Erroneous Interpretations — Two Forms of 
the Interpretation — Whitby's — Newton's — The first Reviewed — Logic ver- 
sus History — The second Reviewed — Injurious Tendencies — Animadver- 
sions — Objection founded on Scripture Precedents — Great Mistake — Impor- 
tant Difference — Old Testament Metaphors — Objection founded on Christ's 
Declaration to the High Priests, Matt. xxvi. 64 — Objection founded on 
Christ's remark concerning John, ch. xxi. 22 — How difficult to defend Er- 
ror — Objection founded on Christ's Declaration that some should not die 
till they had seen him coming in his kingdom, Matt. xvi. 27 — True Inter- 
pretation — Dissimilarity between that Passage and the one under comment 
— How David Typified Christ — Two Kingdoms, or the same in two different 
Dispensations. 

Verse 30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven : 

AND THEN SHALL ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH MOURN, AND THET SHALL SEE THE SON 
OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. 

Here we have the coming of Christ described, both in re- 
spect to the manner, and with respect to its chronological 
order. The word then sufficiently shows its connection with 

* More recent and thorough examination of Wesley's Notes compells the re- 
luctant admission, that, after all, he was not as free from defect in this mat- 



250 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the scenes described in the preceding verse. The darkening 
of the luminaries would first occur, succeeded immediately 
L j the dreadful commotions on the earth, and the distress and 
terror of the nations, as has already been shown in the comment 
on the 29th verse. The reference to the second advent in the 
27th verse has been explained in its appropriate place, and 
shown to be a merely parenthetic allusion to it, for the pur- 
pose of guarding the disciples more perfectly against being 
deceived by the impostors, who would make their appearance 
at the time of which the Lord was then speaking. 

2. In the verse before us we have the subject introduced 
in its appropriate place and form. But we cannot proceed 
with the exposition until something more is done to exhibit 
the errors which have become so prevalent in the usual inter- 
pretations of this verse. Like the 27th verse, this also is 
usually applied to the coming of the Romans, and treated as 
a mere figurative representation of the divine judgments upon 
the Jews. 

Whitby may be considered as having given the popular 
opinion in respect to this verse. " Our Saviour's coming here 
seems therefore to import his coming by the Roman army to 
besiege and destroy Jerusalem, and the unbelieving Jews / for 
so Christ seemeth plainly to interpret this t coming of the Son 
of man :' (Yerse 27.) ' The coming of the Son of man shall 
be as the lightning shining from the east to the west ; 6Vou /ap, 
for wheresoever the Jews are, thither shall the Roman army 
be gathered' (see verse 27, above :) his coming therefore must 
be with the Roman army."* " And this interpretation," he 

ter, as the -writer at first gladly hoped and supposed. Wesley, it appears, 
from his own explanation of the case, (Preface, Sec. V,) followed, almost with- 
out deviation, in the track of Bengelius, whom he regarded as a " great light 
of the Christian world." Bengelius did not mislead Mr. Wesley in divinity, 
but in critical exegesis of certain passages, where — not the theology of the 
Scriptures — but common history and unfulfilled prophecy, have to be depend- 
ed upon for primary sources of argument and illustration ; — in this depart- 
ment of biblical exegesis, it is undeniable that Mr. Wesley was misled, not 
only in the passage before us, but in several others, by his too great reliance 
apon Bengelius. 
* Certainly, if Christ used the words you put in his mouth. 



EAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 251 

continues, " will not seem strange if we consider, (1.) That 
God's commg to destroy ; or execute his vengeance on a wick- 
ed generation, is represented as his ' coming in the clouds of 
heaven.' " Then follow several references to the Old Tes- 
tament. 

3. Now, after the historical demonstration of the error of 
applying the 27th verse to the coming of the Romans ; and 
after the argument against the metaphorical interpretation of 
the 29th verse, it cannot be necessary to detain the reader 
long with preliminaries to the true exposition of the verse 
under notice. The common figurative theory of interpreta- 
tion, as it is exhibited by Whitby, consists of two different 
branches ; one of which makes the coming of Christ to be a 
literal coming of the Romans to execute the judgments of 
Christ upon the Jews ; and the other branch of the theory 
supposes that the coming of Christ here described, though in 
some way connected with the coming of the Romans, does 
not so much refer to the actual coming of that people, and of 
the calamities they occasioned, as to the subsequent manifes- 
tation of the Lord Jesus by the judgments which he, by means 
of the Romans, inflicted. 

4. This branch of the theory is sufficiently stated by New- 
ton in his dissertation on the Prophecies ; and it has been 
adopted by several of our principal commentators. " Our 
Saviour proceeded in the same figurative style, (verse 30 :) 
4 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven,' 
&c. The plain meaning of it is, that the destruction of Jeru- 
salem will be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance, 
such a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory, that 
all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will be led from 
thence to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion. In 
the ancient prophets, God is frequently described as coming 
in the clouds, upon any remarkable interposition and mani- 
festation of his power ; and the same description is here ap- 
plied to Christ. The destruction of Jerusalem will be as am- 
ple a manifestation of Christ's power and glory, as if he was 
himself to come visibly in the clouds of heaven." [! !] See 
Newton on the Prophecies. 



252 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

5. If this form of the figurative theory were not to be found 
in most of the Expositions in common use, the writer would 
consider it too absurd, not to say ridiculous, to meet a formal 
notice. But when we find it maintained, either in whole or 
in part, by such divines as Newton, Clarke, "Watson, Coke, 
Benson, Barnes, Macknight, &c; and when we find that it is 
the best explanation that the defenders of the figurative theo- 
ry can give of this coming of the Lord ; it theii stands us in 
hand to expose this absurdity. The reader's attention will be 
directed, first, to the branch of the theory as maintained by 
Whitby, — that the coming of Christ here means " his coming 
by the Roman army to besiege and destroy Jerusalem and the 
unbelieving Jews." 

6. Now, if reason and fact can be allowed to have an influ- 
ence in settling a disputed question, it will not take long to 
exhibit the utter inconsistency of this form of the theory. 

(1.) If the coming of the Lord at this time was merely " the 
coming of the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem and the un- 
believing Jews," then it will follow, of necessity, that it occur- 
red at the same time, since, in fact, it is affirmed to be the 
same event. 

(2.) Now, the Romans came several years before the de- 
struction of the city. But our Lord places the coming here 
spoken of afterwards ! 

(3.) Again, the destruction of the Jewish state, and church, 
their city, and people, resulted from the coming of the Ro- 
mans, and must, of course, have been after that coming, be- 
cause results must be subsequent to the causes which produced 
them. 

But our Lord describes this coming as being after the trib- 
ulation of those days, and subsequent in order to the darkening 
of the sun, moon, and stars. Which shall we believe, man or 
the Lord? Who is to be sustained and justified, — those who 
pay less respect to human wisdom, and more to divine, — or 
those who do otherwise ? The answer should be a practical 
one. 

7. It is but justice to Whitby to observe, that he had logical 
foresight enough to avoid this palpable contradiction, by sup- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

posing that " the tribulation of those days," after which this 
coming was to be, occurred at an earlier stage of the war, " a 
considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem," while 
" Vespasian's army was flying quickly through Gallilee, Idu- 
mea, and Judea." And he makes it out — truly, and undenia- 
bly — that the Jewish ecclesiastical and civil government was 
indeed overthrown, and their eminent men and rulers de- 
stroyed, before Jerusalem itself was overthrown. Hence his 
distinct affirmation that the coming now spoken of by the 
Lord, was " the coming of the Romans to destroy Jerusalem 
and the unbelieving Jews." 

8. So far as the writer has extended his investigations, 
Whitby appears to be alone in the peculiar turn which he 
gives to his exposition. He was too strongly wedded to his 
figurative theory to abandon it for a literal application of the 
verse ; and he was too keen a logician to blunder into a pal- 
pable contradiction of the Lord. Therefore he adopted this 
singular method of saving his logic, whatever might happen 
to his divinity. To this singular modification of the figurative 
theory, there are objections, which seem to have prevented 
any, or many, from adopting it ; although the theory in the 
mam has been almost universally received. 

(1.) The first thing that may be noticed is, that his comment 
on the verse under notice does not agree with his explanation 
of verse 27, where the same coming of the Lord is incidentally 
alluded to. In explaining the coming of Christ there, he does 
indeed refer it to the coming of the Romans / but it is appli- 
ed to their first conquests of the country. Whereas, the com- 
ing here mentioned is restricted to the coming of Titus to 
finish up the war by besieging Jerusalem and destroying the 
Jews that remained ! 

(2.) Another thing to be remembered is this : this same 
able divine has labored, and successfully, too, to show that 
there was a total destruction of the Jewish " ecclesiastical and 
civil state, and the rulers of them both," " a considerable time 
before the destruction of Jerusalem." There was, indeed ; 
and previously to the sige of Jerusalem, the whole country, 
north, south, east, and west, had been conquered and ravaged ; 



254 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

while in the metropolis itself, before the coming of Titus to 
besiege it, not only the priesthood, but the judiciary, the civil 
government and the eminent men of the nation, had been de- 
stroyed, and the temple itself had become a fortress for an 
army of robbers. 

Now, to save the logic of his strange theory, the learned 
divine has to plunge into the palpable absurdity of supposing 
that the great manifestation of the Lord's judgment upon the 
Jews, by which Christ was to be seen coming in the clouds of 
heaven, with power and great glory, was not the coming of 
the Romans to invade and ravage the length and breadth of 
the land ; was not the destruction, by death and captivity, of 
the bulk of the nation, till but a single city was left ; was not 
the utter overthrow of their state, church, judiciary, and em- 
inent men, like the darkening of their sun, moon, and stars ; — 
no — all this formed no part of that work of judgment which 
was to manifest so amazingly the glory of Christ, by his ven- 
geance upon the Jews ; — but, after all the country was con- 
quered, the state, church, and eminent men destroyed, and 
there was but a single city left, and that so near destruction 
in consequence of the ravages of the robbers within, that it 
was rather a relief than otherwise, (so it was expressly affirm- 
ed,) to be assailed by the Romans ; — then, as the author un- 
der review says, this judgment-coming of the Lord took place ! 
Then it was that he was so conspicuously seen coming in the 
clouds of heaven to punish the unbelieving Jews ! All before 
this time was to be counted as nothing ! The destruction of 
the church, government, rulers, cities, provinces, and people 
without number, was nothing ! But when Titus came to be- 
siege the metropolis, and destroy what remained of the people, 
this was the surpassingly glorious manifestation of the Lord 
coming in the clouds of heaven. It is not suprising that this 
strange peculiarity of the troublesome theory should have but 
few, if any, supporters. There is yet left in the common 
mind a little of that common sense which is rather trouble- 
some to the sophist who labors to save his logic at the expense 
of reason. 

The other branch of the figurative theory of applying this 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 255 

verse, is thus stated by Bishop Newton in his work g.i the 
Prophecies : " The plain meaning of it is, that the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem will be such a remarkable instance of 
divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation of Christ's 
power and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and 
many will be led from thence to acknowledge Christ and the 
Christian religion. In the ancient prophets, God is frequently 
described as coming in the clouds, upon any remarkable inter- 
position and manifestation of his power ; and the same 
description is here applied to Christ. The destruction of 
Jerusalem will he as ample a manifestation of Christ's power 
and glory, as if he was himself to come visibly in the " clouds 
of heaven" [!] 

]STow, wonderful as it may seem, the defenders of the figu- 
rative exposition are so hardly, so desperately pushed by the 
difficulties of their fanciful theory, that this is the best expla- 
nation of the passage that they can give ! The most particu- 
lar, the most generally quoted, the most evidently literal 
description of the second coming of the Lord that can be 
found in the Bible, is explained to mean nothing more than 
the moral effects upon unbelieving men of a terrible judgment 
upon the wicked Jews ! And this is the favorite theory of 
nearly all our modern divines ! Let us look once more at the 
words of which such a statement is designed to be a comment. 

Verse 30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. 
And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn ; and they shall see the 
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glort. 

Now, who, that is not hopelessly committed to the figura- 
tive theory, would suppose that it was possible for such divines 
as Newton, Clarke, and a host of others, to satisfy themselves 
with such a view of such a passage? Such an unnatural, 
unsatisfying, unimpressive exposition would be the less objec- 
tionable, if it were not for several considerations : 

1. The literal interpretation of the passage would not intro- 
duce into the church any sentiment that was new, unfamiliar, 
or unprofitable. 

2. It would be only treating the passage just as we are 



256 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

habitually treating many other passages which are less par- 
ticular, less evidently literal, less important, and less im- 
pressive. 

3. The passage is acknowledged by these very divines 
(most of them) to have a remote reference to the second advent 
at the end of the world. They usually contend, however, 
that its primary reference is to Jewish affairs. 

4. The figurative interpretation of this passage is no more 
natural or justifiable than the figurative interpretation of any 
other, and every other, of the same character, contained in 
the Bible. And the same arguments which are used to set 
aside the literal rendering of this verse, may be used just as 
successfully, and generally more so, to evade the literal teach- 
ing of every passage in the Scripture on which we rely to 
prove the coming of the Lord to judgment. Hence, those 
who deny the second advent of our Lord, have only to extend 
as far as they please the application of orthodox (?) argu- 
ments, and where does the Bible teach the judgment-coming 
of our Lord ? 

5. The figurative theory of interpretation naturally tends 
to prevent the confidence which the mass of readers would 
have in the Scriptures, if commentators did not almost uni- 
versally betray a distrust of the literal teaching of the divine 
word. But when great men set the example of metaphorizing, 
and poetizing the most important communications of the 
Holy Ghost, it is not surprising that the common people are 
so generally unaffected by those very portions of the Bible 
which seem to have been designed for the principal perma- 
nent sources of warning to the careless, and encouragement 
to the faithful. If the people are warned and religiously 
influenced by the passages relating to the second advent, it is 
rather in spite of, or in contempt of, the fanciful and unnatural 
theorizings of men renowned for wit, research, and learning. 
The hope of the world, in respect to these things, is in the 
natural, unsophisticated confidence and reverence which com- 
mon people usually have for what they believe to be the 
teachings of Inspiration. But just as soon as this simple- 
hearted confidence is destroyed, by the clashing, far-fetched r 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 257 

mystifying comments of men, so soon the foundation on 
which to build the hope of conversion is to a great extent 
undermined. And the question, after all, is simply this : 
Was the Bible designed for the common people — for the 
many people — or was it designed for the few — the learned? 
If for the common people, then it was adapted to them, as 
common people ; and it was done by the Infinite Wisdom that 
arranged all the w >nderful adaptions in nature. Whence, 
then, the propriety, or even lawfulness, of wresting from its 
natural and easy import such passages as the one before us, 
and expounding them in such a way that no common, un- 
sophisticated mind would ever be likely to adopt from its own 
spontaneous convictions ? If the Bible was not designed and 
adapted to the common mind — to the many — then it either 
had no adaption, or it was designed for the few — the learned. 
And, if this be so, then the Romish church is right in with- 
holding the pure word of God from the masses, and teaching 
that the priesthood alone are capable of understanding it. 

6. This loose and fanciful method of expounding this, and 
other similar portions of the Scriptures, is most evidently the 
source of theoretic Universalism, and other forms of semi- 
infidelity. And it occasions a lack of intensity in the im- 
pressions which these portions of the Bible were evidently 
designed to produce. The injury is incalculable, and ordina- 
rily incurable. This painful truth meets us at every point, 
and probably eternity will disclose an extent of injury from 
this source that will be absolutely appalling. 

7. Great must be the necessity then, that should justify any 
departure from literality in expounding such passages as this. 
It ought to be ascertained, first, that a literal interpretation is 
absolutely impracticable ; that it either clashes with other 
portions of the Bible, or with indubitable facts. Nothing less 
than this should be deemed sufficient to warrant us in conclu- 
ding that the Lord did not mean just what he said, in a dis- 
course intended for the common mind. 

8. But are there any such reasons for wresting this passage 
from its literal and natural import ? 'No ; there is not one. 
Does its literal teaching conflict with well ascertained facts ? 

17 



258 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

No ; it does not : the whole race of learned men may be 
safely challenged to produce a single fact that can possibly be 
brought into conflict with the literal teaching of this text. 
Does it clash with other portions of Scripture I No ; it does 
not: there is not only no disagreement, but the literal teach- 
ing of this text is in the most perfect harmony with those 
portions which undeniably relate primarily to the second 
coming of the Lord. What, then, can justify this almost 
universal practice of poetizing one of the most rigidly prose 
portions of the Bible ? Let him answer who can. 

9. There is one objection that may be anticipated here : 
Have we not examples of undeniable figurativeness in many 
portions of the Old Testament, where the language is similar, 
or just like that now under notice ? No ; there is not one. 
These are passages which speak of God being in the clouds at 
the giving of the law, and during the exodous and journey 
of the Israelites. But they are all literal, for they refer to 
literal occurrences. But there is not a passage in the Old 
Testament, excepting Dan. vii. 13, that is just like or even 
similar, to the passage under notice. One would naturally 
infer from the confident manner in which writers are accus- 
tomed to appeal to the Old Testament, as presenting many 
examples of using this kind of language figuratively, that 
nothing was more common, and nothing more evident, than 
the figurative use of such descriptions of the coming of God 
or Christ. There is a vast amount of assertion*, and a great 
deal said about the hieroglyphical and prophetical style of 
prediction ; and there are, indeed, a great number of passages 
which are usually referred to as specimens and proofs. But, 
with the exception before noted, there is not one, no, not one, 
that is even similar to the verse under notice. This is written 
as the convincing conclusion of an examination of all the 
passages that a learned and laborious defender of the figura- 
tive theory could produce. His attempt has utterly failed. 
There are a few expressions in the poetical parts of the Old 
Testament which do, indeed, contain a similar word, as, for 
instance, the word come ; Isa. lxiv. 1. "Oh that thou wouldst 
rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down ! " Hab. iii. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 259 

3. " God came from Teman." Gen. xi. 5. " The Lord came 
down to see the city and the tower." Ex. iii. 8. " I am come 
down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians." 
But what similarity is there between these mere expressions 
and the descriptive passage under notice ? There is, indeed, 
the similarity of a word. But if this establishes a parallel- 
w»*, then what passages are not parallel ? And where unto 
would this thing grow, if it should be diligently encouraged? 
But it may be replied, that these, and many other similar ex- 
pressions, present a similarity of idea : they represent God as 
coming down, going forth, rising up, &c. This is true, 
indeed; but whoever thought, on any other subject, that the 
similarity of a single idea made the expression conveying it 
parallel to a group and succession of ideas ? The passage 
before us is not merely an idea, or an expression : it is a 
graphic descripttion of a scene, ivith its attending residts. 
And, with the aforementioned exception, the whole race of 
metaphorizers may be safely challenged to point out a paral- 
lel in the Old Testament. If men should reason so loosely 
and unphilosophically on almost any other subject, they 
would be in danger of losing their reputation for common 
intelligence. And why the world has so long tolerated this 
superficial method of explaining away the most solemn and 
literal teachings of Inspiration, is really wonderful. 

10. The same observations are just as applicable to the many 
references to the passages which speak of God coming in a 
cloud, riding upon a cloud, &c. These figurative expressions 
which abound in the poetical Scriptures, are no more parallel 
with the passage before us than those noticed previously. 
There is about the same parallel that there is between a regu- 
lar, well painted picture, and a single daub of one of the 
colors on something else. . Besides, they either state, or refer 
to the fact, that was so prominent in the early and never-for- 
gotten history of the Jews, when God did literally come down 
in a cloud, dwell in the thick cloud, make clouds and dark- 
ness his pavilion, march forth " in the pillar of a cloud" &c. 
Where, then is the force of the argument to justify the meta- 
phorizing the passage before us, on the ground of parallelism 



260 . HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

with these representations ? In the first place, they are not 
'parallel. In the second place, if they were parallel, it would 
be fatal to the reasonings of those who make this use of 
them. 

11. The advocates of the figurative theory are confident that 
the Isew Testament affords them many examples of even such 
descriptions of the coming of Christ as the passage under 
notice presents, where a figurative interpretation must be 
adopted. For example, Christ's declaration to the high- 
priest, Matt. xxvi. 61, "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man, 
sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds 
of heaven." The use the advocate of the figurative theory 
would make, is this : As it is certain the high-priest could 
not live until the day of judgment, and as the second advent 
will be prior to the resurrection of the dead, therefore, it is 
not possible that the high-priest can ever be a witness of the 
second coming of Christ. For this reason, then, it is conclu- 
ded that the coming spoken of must be a figurative coming 
to destroy Jerusalem. This is the most plausible argument 
that can be produced in favor of the figurative theory. But 
let us analyze it, and see what it contains. 

In the first place it assumes that that identical high-priest, 
Caiaphas, lived until the time of destroying the Jewish na- 
tion. Of this there is no proof whatever, but several things 
which render it exceedingly improbable : (1.) He had already 
been a priest five or six years, and was probably nearly forty 
years of age. The strong probability is that he died long 
before the so-called coming to destroy Jerusalem. About 
four years after Christ was brought before him, he was 
deposed from the priesthood under the displeasure of the 
emperor ; and what became of him is not known. (2.) There 
was a terrible destruction of the eminent men of the nation 
previous to the great catastrophe. And men so eminent as 
the son-in-law of Annas would not be likely to escape. (3.) 
The strong probability is that he was made way with, like 
myriads of others of eminent position, during the dreadful 
years of commotion that preceded the final overthrow of the 
nation. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 261 

la the second place the argument assumes, that because the 
advent is to precede the resurrection, therefore, the resurrec- 
ted high-priest could not witness it, since he would not be 
raised until afterwards. The entire force of the assumption 
rests upon the presumption that Christ would not remain in 
the clouds a single moment after giving the word that wakes 
the dead. And the resurrection will undoubtedly be as in- 
stantaneous as the change of the living — " In a moment, in 
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; for the trumpet 
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised,'' &c. 

]STow, if Christ should see fit to sound the trumpet at the 
beginning of his advent, or while he remains in the air, what 
force could there be in this plausible assumption, which the 
objector deems so conclusive ? That Christ will remain for 
a time in the air, is demonstrated from the declaration, 1 Thess. 
iv. 15-17, " We which are alive and remain unto the coming 
of the Lord, shall not prevent {go before) them which are 
asleep (dead.) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the 
trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then 
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together 
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the Am !" Thus 
it appears to be the very design of God, and he has so de- 
clared it, that the voice that wakes the dead is to be sounded 
while the Lord remains in the clouds / and the dead are to be 
raised and caught up to meet him there ! What then becomes 
of this specious objection? It is annihilated. And the min- 
isters who make it ought to be ashamed of their ignorance of 
this most interesting part of the Bible. 

The Church has been accustomed to sing, 

"The living look with dread; 

The frighted dead arise, 
Start from their monumental bed, 

And lift their ghastly eyes." 

And this view is rigidly Scriptural : " Behold, he cometh with 
clouds ; and every eye shall see h%m / and they also which 
pierced him ; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because 
of him." Rev.i. 7. 



262 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

If it should still be urged, that this seeing him, and wailing 
because of him, will be true only with respect to the wicked 
who shall be alive at the last day, — then the objector will, 
in the third place, assume that the wicked will not be raised 
at the second advent. Let this objector, then, recollect that 
Tie must not object to the doctrine of two resurrections, if he 
should hereafter meet with it. And the objector further as- 
sumes that Caiaphas did certainly live and die an impenitent 
man, so that he cannot be raised at the " resurrection of the 
just." Yet multitudes of these very Jews were afterward 
converted; even the "murderers and betrayers" of Christ. 
And at one time, " a great company of priests were obedient 
unto the faith." 

In the fourth place, the objecfor assumes that Christ's dec- 
laration was to be restricted to the person of Caiaphas him- 
self: " Hereafter ye shall see," &c* Yet the same divines 
that so restrict the word are trying to convert the world un- 
der the authority of the commission given to the apostles ; 
" Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations ; and lo I am with 
you unto the end of the world." Those to whom he said ye, 
according to the objector's principles, must be still alive, be- 
cause they were to continue to the end of the world ! And 
these same divines ought, according to their own reasonings, 
to suppose that Paul and his brethren then living expected to 
live until the coming of the Lord to raise the dead ; for he 
says — " We shall not all sleep, (die,) but we shall all be 
changed," &c. And " then we which are alive and remain 
unto the coming of the Lord," &c. 

Now, what has become of this popular and plausible objec- 
tion to the literal theory ? It is wholly a series of mere as- 
sumptions arrayed against, (1.) The probabilities in the case 
of Caiaphas living beyond the common age of man during 
such times as those ; (2.) Mere assumptions opposed to the 
direct Scripture declarations respecting the fact of the risen 
dead seeing the Lord in the clouds ; (3.) Mere assumptions 
against the theories of the very divines who make them, in 
respect to the fact of two different resurrections ; (4.) As- 
sumption in direct opposition to Scripture usage in respect to 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 263 

restricting declarations to the individuals to whom they were 
first addressed. 

More time has been occupied with this popular objection 
to the literal rendering, because it has been deemed a poser 
to the literalist. Has there not been enough said to demon- 
strate its perfect nothingness and unworthiness ? 

12. A moment may be occupied in noticing another ar- 
gument to prove that Christ spake of his coming with ref- 
erence to Jewish affairs. By an eminent divine it is thus 
stated : 

" In John xxi. 22, is a very significant passage. ' And Jesus 
said : If I will that he [John] tarry until I come, what is that 
to thee V John's fellow disciples spread abroad a report from 
this, that the Saviour had said to him, that he should not die. 
But John himself remarks, that ' Jesus did not say, He shall 
not die,' but, * If I will that he tarry until I come, what is 
that to thee.' " " In other words," continues the writer, 
" John understood Jesus not as promising exemption from 
death, but only that he should live until his coming. And 
when, now, was that to be % If his coming meant the gene- 
ral judgment, then John would not have to die at all ; for 
saints then alive were not to die, but to be immediately 
1 caught up to meet the Lord in the air,' doubtless with an ap- 
propriate metamorphosis. The coming in question, then, after 
which John was to die and not before, must have been some 
coming during that generation. And what else could it be 
referred to, except to his coming to punish the unbelieving 
Jews?" 

Now, who would ever dream of such an explanation of 
this matter, if his whole field of vision were not entirely oc- 
cupied with " the destruction of Jerusalem ?" This is the 
same writer that attempts to make so much of Christ's decla- 
ration to the high-priest ; inferring, as a matter of course, that 
Caiaphas lived to witness that so-called coming. And the 
writer also understands Christ to have affirmed repeatedly in 
the hearing of his disciples, that " the generation of men then 
living " should not pass away until all that he had foretold 



2Gtt HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

about Jerusalem's desolation should be fulfilled.* Now, if 
the disciples understood Christ to refer to a judicial coming 
to destroy Jerusalem, and also understood him to say, that all 
should be fulfilled before that generation of men then living 
should pass away, how came they to spread abroad the report, 
that " that disciple should not die f " Observe, the report was 
not, that he should live to be very old ; not that he should 
not die a violent death / but that he should not die. The disci- 
ples had been distinctly and repeatedly informed, according 
to the figurative theory, that these temporal judgments should 
occur within the lifetime of that generation of men \ and yet, 
because John should live to witness them, therefore John 
should never die ! Was there ever a more unnatural and im- 
probable conclusion ? How hard it is to prop up a founda- 
tionless theory ! 

The whole matter is susceptible of an easy, natural, and 
scriptural explanation. The incident occurred after Christ's 
resurrection, when the disciples had been enlightened in re- 
spect to many things which previously they had not under- 
stood. It occurred among the last incidents recorded by 
John, and probably just before the ascension. Now Christ 
continued with his disciples, after his resurrection, forty days, 
" speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." 
Acts i. 3. Now it is morally impossible that so important a 
matter as his coming to raise the dead, and change the living, 
could have been omitted during all those finishing instructions 
which Christ tarried to give them, in order to prepare them 
for their work after his ascension. Let us suppose, then, what 
we are morally obliged to suppose, that now, after receiving 
their final instructions from the Lord Jesus, the disciples un- 
derstood the matters pertaining to the second advent as Paul 
has described it in 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52. Those who " remain 
unto the coming of the Lord " will not die ; but will be 
" changed," without passing through death, into immortal be- 



* Christ's remark concerning John was made after all his discourses about 
Jerusalem had been delivered. 



HAEMONY ASTD EXPOSITION. 265 

ings. "With this view of the case, all is natural and plain. 
The disciples understand Christ to say, or at least to inti- 
mate, that it would be his will that John should " tarry " un- 
til his coming. Then the saying immediately goes abroad, 
that John should not die. How natural ! How scriptural ! 
They understood that John was to be kept " alive unto the 
coming of the Lord ;" and, of course, supposed that he would 
not die. " Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die ; 
but, If I will that he tarry until I come ^ what is that to thee f 
Follow thou meP Christ had just signified to Peter " by 
what death he should glorify God ;" and said to him, Follow 
me. But Peter, instead of attending to his own affairs, began 
to meddle with Christ's ; and wanted to know what should 
be the destiny of John. Christ gave him to understand that 
it was none of his concern ; it was wholly a matter of his 
[Christ's] own determination. " If I will that he tarry until I 
come, what is that to thee ? Follow thou me." 

How much easier it is to support the truth, than to support 
fiction ! If men were really anxious to find out a literal in- 
terpretation of the Lord's words, it is surprising that they 
should go out of the way to avoid the literal explanation, and 
be satisfied with unnatural and improbable speculations. 

13. There is another passage on which great reliance is 
placed, to show that the coming of Christ could not mean his 
coming at the end of the world, Matt. xvi. 27-28, compared 
with Mark viii. 38, and ix. 1, together with Luke ix. 26-27.* 

Yerse 27. " For the Son of man shall come in the glory of 
his Father, with his angels ; and then shall he reward every 
man according to his works. 28. Yerily I say unto you, 
There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, 
till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." 

JSTow, it is evident that verse 27 does refer to the coming to 
the general judgment. And if verse 28 refers to the same 
thing, then there is an end of the matter : Christ came to 
judgment — the final judgment — while some of those disci- 
ples were living in this world ! But who will adopt this ? 

* See the whole passage harmonized in Part I., chap. 3. 



266 HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

No one who cares a groat for his orthodoxy. Then those who 
are ever on the lookout for figures must find some other meth- 
od of interpretation. Dr. Clarke may be selected as present- 
ing the popular view. 

" Yerse 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory of 
his Father.'] This seems to refer to Dan. vii. 13, 14. ' Be- 
hold, one like the Son of man came to the Ancient of days — 
and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, and nations, and languages, should serve 
him.' This was the glorious mediatorial kingdom which Jesus 
Christ was now abont to set up, by the destruction of the Jew- 
ish nation and polity, and the diffusion of the gospel through 

the whole world It is very likely that the words do 

not apply to the final judgment, to which they are generally 
referred ; but to the wonderful display of God's grace and 
power after the day of Pentecost. 

" Yerse 28. There he some — which shall not taste of deaths 
This verse seems to confirm the above explanation, as our 
Lord evidently speaks of the establishment of the Christian 
church after the day of Pentecost, and its final triumph after 
the destruction of the Jewish polity ; as if he had said — 
' Some of you, my disciples, shall continue to live until these 
things take place.' The destruction of Jerusalem, and the 
Jewish economy, which our Lord here predicts, took place 
about forty-three years after this ; and some of the persons 
now with him, doubtless survived that period, and witnessed 
the extension of the Messiah's kingdom," &c. 

It will be readily seen that Dr. Clarke does not admit that 
verse 27 refers to the judgment advent. He supposes it to re- 
fer to the setting up of the mediatorial kingdom. In this he 
differs from most other divine?, who, nevertheless, agree with 
him in the adoption of the figurative theory of exegesis in the 
main. 

A sufficient answer to Dr. Clarke's view may be found in 
the Exposition of Richard Watson. 

" Yerse 27. For the Son of man shall come in the glory, c&c. 
In the full manifested glory of the Godhead, accompanied by 
the whole host of holy angels ; in strange contrast to his then 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 267 

humble condition, surrounded by a few poor disciples, despised 

and rejected of men! That these words relate, not 

to the setting up of his mediatorial kingdom, as predicted by 
Daniel, nor, figuratively, to his coming to judge the nation of 
the Jews, is most evident from what follows : And then he 
will reward every man according to his works. This is not an 
act of gracious mediation, but of strict judgment ; so that the 
coming of Christ in the fullness of his glory, as mediator, could 
not be intended ; nor is a national judgment a rewarding of 
every or each man according to his work ; for sinners of widely 
different degrees of delinquency are involved in the same 
public calamities, and the comparatively innocent share the 
penalty equally with the most guilty. Besides, those who ap- 
ply this to the desolation of Judea by the Romans, which was 
no doubt a judicial act of Christ in his exalted state, ought to 
show how the pious and faithful, as well as the wicked, were 
then rewarded ; which is undoubtedly intended in rendering 
to ' every man according to his works.' The passage has 
clearly no meaning but as it refers to the end of the world, 
and the general judgment ; for then, only, can those be fully 
rewarded who have laid down their lives for the sake of 
Christ,* one of the subjects on which he had been discours- 
ing, and which stands intimately connected with these words. 
Verse 28. Till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom. 
That this coming of the Son of man relates to the setting up 
of the mediatorial kingdom of Christ in its fullness and per- 
fection, is as certain as that the coming of the Son of man in 
the preceding verse relates to his second advent as Judge. 
The parallel places sufficiently explain the meaning. St. 
Luke says, ' Till they see the kingdom of God ;' and St. Mark, 
' Till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.' 
1 The kingdom of Christ,' 'the kingdom of God,' and 'the 
kingdom of heaven,' are all phrases used to express the gos- 
pel dispensation, or Christian economy. .... Those com- 
mentators who apply these words to the judicial visitation of 
the Jewish nation, and the destruction of Jerusalem, adopt an 

* See verses 24-26. 



268 HARMONY AM) EXPOSITION. 

interpretation which is wholly forbidden by the parallel pla- 
ces from Mark and Luke, above referred to ; for how that 
direful event could be the ' coming of the kingdom of God 
with power,' is utterly inconceivable, when the established 
sense of the phrase, ' The kingdom of God,' as used in the 
gospels, is considered." 

14. These extracts are characteristic of the clear discrimi- 
nation and powerful logic of that great modern divine, Rich- 
ard Watson. "Whenever he brought a subject to the test of 
his own personal examination, and did not rely upon others, 
his own almost infallible judgment in logic and divinity gui- 
ded him to sound conclusions. But when he depended upon 
the testimony and researches of others — as he unfortunately 
did in his adoption of the errors which have already been 
pointed out in his annotations on the 24th chapter of Matthew 
i — then he, of course, was as liable to mistakes as those whom 
he followed, without personal examination of the matters of 
which they treated. He could not fully adopt the figurative 
theory ; but he appears all along to be more or less trammel- 
ed by it. He may be regarded as a good specimen of what 
is known as the " double sense" expositor. He applies — in 
almost every case — the passages relating to the judgment 
advent to their appropriate subjects, in a clear and decided 
manner, but frequently seems to hesitate to break entirely 
loose from the fanciful methods of interpreting these portions 
of the Bible ; and in trying to keep within the limits of the 
figurative theory, he has, as might have been expected, exhib- 
ited weaknesses and inconsistencies in his generally unsur- 
passed annotations on those portions of the divine word. 

It will be safe to leave the explanation of Matt. xvi. 27, 28, 
as he has most convincingly presented it. It may be ob- 
served, however, that the language applied to the coming of 
the Son of man in his kingdom, is not at all similar to the 
30th verse of Matt, xxiv., which is now before us. In the 
verse in Matt, xxiv., we have the appearance of the sign of the 
Son of man in heaven; but there is nothing of this in the 
other. We have also the declaration that all the tribes of the 
earth shall see him coming w the clouds of heaven j but there 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 269 

is nothing of this in the other. To see him " coming in his 
kingdom," or his " kingdom come with power," or to see the 
" kingdom of God," is a very different thing, indeed, from 
seeing Christ himself coming in the clouds of heaven with 
all the angels of God. And, besides, this is seen by all the 
tribes of the earth ; but that is restricted to them : " There 
be some standing here, which shall not taste of death until 
they see the kingdom of God come with power." Then, in 
the passage in the 2±th chapter, there is the sound of the 
trumpet, the gathering of the elect from the four winds, and, 
in verses following, many other circumstances which clearly 
show that there is no parallelism between the two passages. 
The 27th verse of the former passage is parallel with the lat- 
ter as far as it goes ; the 28th verse is not parallel at all. 
There is, indeed, the resemblance of a word or two, and, per- 
haps, of an idea or two ; but beyond this the parallelism is 
not perceivable. It is certain, then, that there is a sense in 
which Christ is said to " come in his kingdom," which has no 
reference whatever either to the destruction of Jerusalem, or 
to the judgment day. But the kingdom spoken of is not the 
kingdom usually spoken of by the prophets and others, where 
the Messiah sits upon the throne of David, and reigns over 
the house of Jacob ; for David was in no sense a type or 
forerunner of Christ, in his mediatorial office, but only in his 
kingly office. Christ, as mediator, now sits at the right hand 
of God, being made head over all things to the church. And 
his present dominion is certainly called a kingdom. But 
all this may consist with the literal fulfillment of those many 
predictions of a future kingdom, when the present dispen- 
sation of mediation has passed away. By not discrimina- 
ting between these two kingdoms, or the same dominion in 
two widely different dispensations, — and by confounding 
together the passages of Scripture which relate to the two 
.respectively, great confusion has prevailed in the church, 
and our Expositions of the sacred word have been per- 
plexed, contradictory, and unsatisfying. The two verses in 
Matt, xvi., then, as Mr. Watson has most convincingly prov- 
ed, relate to things very different in nature, and widely sep- 



270 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

arated in fulfillment. And it is not objectionable that verses 
relating to sncli very different times and things should be 
found in such close connection. The one naturally suggested 
the other, as in many other instances where other things as 
dissimilar were spoken of. Take, for a convenient example, 
John v. 25-29, where a spiritual, and the literal resurrections 
are both referred to. 

15. Some divines, both ancient and modern, suppose JVTatt. 
xvi. 28 refers to the transfiguration of Christ a few days after, 
when he took Peter, and James, and John up into the moun- 
tain to meet Moses and Elias. By referring to 1 Pet. i. 16-18, 
the argument is made very plausible : Yerse 16. " For we 
have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made 
known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, hut were eye-witnesses of his majesty. 17. For he 
received from God the Father, honor and glory, when there 
came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, ' This is my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' 18. And this voice 
which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him, 
in the holy mount" 

The explanation derived from this remarkable passage is 
not to be contemned ; but it does not appear to be as natural 
as the one adopted by "Watson, and in its essential features, 
quoted above. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION 271 



CHAPTER XI. 

Principal subject — The Coming of Christ. Review of the 
Figurative Theory. 

Remarkable Exposition — Its Objectionable Character — Defectiveness, even 
if the Text be Figurative — Common Rules of Interpretation Reversed — 
No Parallel Texts, with one exception, in the Old Testament — The Point 
to be proved — No Historic Proof of the Figurative Theory — Inconsistent 
with Christ's Mediatorial Offices — A "Word for Universalists — Character 
of the Mediatorial Dispensation — Fatal Results — Self-contradiction — Va- 
riance with the Words of Christ — Ingenious Evasion — Singular Logic — 
Embarrassment of Commentators — How Occasioned — Dr. Tower's Opinion 
— Dr. Campbell's — Dr. Mede's — Tense of the Saviour's words. 

Verse 30. And thehe shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven : 

AND THEN SHALL ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH MOURN, AND THEY SHALL SEE THE SON 
OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. 

" The plain meaning of it is, that the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem will be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance, 
such a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory, that 
all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will be led from 
thence to acknowledge Christ and the Christian religion. In 
the ancient prophets, God is frequently described as coming 
in the clouds, upon any remarkable interposition and mani- 
festation of his power ; and the same description is here ap- 
plied to Christ. The destruction of Jerusalem will be as 
ample a manifestation of Christ's power and glory, as if he 
was to come himself visibly in the clouds of heaven."— New- 
ton on the Prophecies. 

However remarkable these declarations may appear, as a 
comment on the passage before us, yet they express the pres- 
ent usual method of expounding these words of our Lord. 
Nearly all our commentators, as, e. g., Dr. Whitby, Dr. 
Clarke, Dr. Warburton, adopt this method in full. Mr. Bur- 
kitt, Mr. Watson, Mr. Barnes, and several others, likewise 
adopt it, but connect it with a supposition that the passage 



272 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

also refers to the day of judgment. The comment of New- 
ton, quoted above, may be considered as expressing, with 
some modifications, the usual modern understanding of this 
matter, so far as the Commentaries give expression and direction 
to the general mind. To this method of explaining the text, 
there are many and weighty objections. 

1. It is an exceedingly indefinite exposition of a very defi- 
nite prediction. The passage contains several distinctly named 
particulars, arranged in a definite order of succession ; and 
perfectly corresponds, in its literary character, with preceding 
and succeeding portions that are strictly literal, not only as a 
whole, but in respect also to their individual sentences. But 
this figurative exposition does not define anything with clear- 
ness, pays little or no regard to the arrangement of the suc- 
cessive parts, and leaves the mind with no distinct impression 
of anything that appropriately develops or confirms the sen- 
timents of the prediction. It is, to all intents, indefiniteness 
from beginning to end ; and is, nevertheless, intended as a 
comment upon a passage that is particular and definite 
throughout. What the text means as a whole, the comment 
is very positive in asserting ; but what its individual parts 
mean, it might not be easy to determine ! We can give the 
solution of the problem : but, alas, we cannot tell what its 
component figures are ! 

Now, even if the passage were confessedly figurative, we 
should be bound to suppose that each distinct subject intro- 
duced was intended for some distinct application ; as, e. g., that 
the sign of the Son of man does not mean the Son of man 
himself, but something that refers to him, and in some way 
represents him ; for the sign must be different from the thing 
signified. But this figurative expression pays almost no re- 
gard to this important matter ; but, to a great extent, con- 
founds things together with no discrimination between signs 
and things signified. But this is of vast importance in the 
exegesis of figurative language ; so that, even supposing the 
passage to be metaphorical, this exposition does not expound 
it in accordance with any well defined principle of interpre- 
tation. If the text treated of matters of no importance, such 



HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 273 

loose methods might be tolerated, perhaps; but the subjects 
treated are vastly important. Yet the moment the attempt is 
made to show what is signified by the sign, that moment con- 
fusion marks the exposition. Nothing but the most indefinite, 
general statements, and without proofs, too, can be trusted in 
the application. 

And we must be compelled to suppose that our Lord was, 
in this part of his discourse, a mere rhapsodist, speaking with- 
out distinct ideas, and without definite arrangement, meaning 
much in the general, and little or nothing in the particular ; 
— we must come to this conclusion, if we admit that such in- 
definite and irresponsible expositions do justice to the predic- 
tion. In the preceding verse, the figuratist professes to find 
an application for each individual idea : the sun, the moon, 
the stars, all mean something. The darkening, the falling, 
and the shaking of the luminaries of heaven, all mean some- 
thing. And he has at hand an application for the whole, as a 
whole, and for the parts, as parts. Viewing the passage as 
figurative, he is consistent with himself: his common sense, 
without much proficiency, perhaps, in the knowledge of 
of literary rules, guides him to such conclusions. He there- 
by saves the Lord from being a mere rhapsodist, carried be- 
yond all literary propriety, by the ungovernable excitement 
of his own ardency. 

But when the figuratist attempts to apply his rules to the 
explication of the several parts of the passage under notice, 
he finds himself in as much difficulty as the Universalist does, 
when he undertakes to apply the various parts of the so-called 
parable of the rich man and Lazarus. What it means as a 
whole, is very clear to him ; but what is meant by its several 
parts, is yet to be discovered ! In the meantime, let him who 
has — not the best understanding of literary rules — but the 
most ingenious fancy, take the lead in search after the hidden 
idea ! 

So, in relation to this part of our Lord's prophecy : it re- 
quires the utmost ingenuity — not a sober, common sense un- 
derstanding of literary propriety — to make anything out of 
it, treated as a figurative description of something else. 
18 



274: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

There are no well ascertained facts, and no evident scriptural 
example, to suggest to the common mind the application of 
the several parts. It is judged to be figurative — not because 
it may not be literal, but because it is associated with other 
passages which are also supposed to be figurative. And even 
these other passages would not contradict either fact or Scrip- 
ture, if they should be interpreted literally, as has been shown 
in previous chapters. 

In the usual treatment of this passage, the ground of pro- 
cedure is — not virtually merely, but really — that the estab- 
lished rules of interpretation must be reversed, and, instead of 
concluding that the passage is literal, until it i& proved to be 
figurative, it must be regarded as figurative until it is proved 
to be literal ! And this is the principal source of the indefi- 
niteness and difficulty that characterize this, and all other fig- 
urative expositions of this part of the prophecy. This text 
has none of the characteristics of figurative language, and 
there are no well ascertained facts that suggest themselves to 
the common mind, as the things signified by what are consider- 
ed as merely signs. The text is undeniably definite in all its 
parts, and the comment is as undeniably of the opposite 
character. 

2. To this figurative interpretation it is further objected, 
that it is not warranted by a single scriptural example. As 
this point has been sufficiently treated in the preceding chap- 
ter, it will not be necessary to enlarge upon it here. 

One would suppose, from the confident assertions of figura- 
tists, that such descriptions as this text contains are very fre- 
quent in the Old Testament, and are very commonly applied 
to extraordinary manifestations of divine power. Well, now, 
here is the Bible, within reach of every man ; if there is a 
similar description to be found in the Old Testament, it can- 
not take long to discover it: let it be found and compared with 
this; and so annihilate this objection. The text in Dan. vii. 
13, is admitted to be similar, to some extent ; but the figura- 
tist will not bring that up as parallel in its application with 
his supposition of the text in Matthew. 

3. It is objected, again, that the figurative exposition and 



HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 275 

application is not sustained by a single fact. Yet it is, in its 
very nature, a question of fact. And Providence has wisely 
so ordered it that an unimpeachable historian was raised up, 
qualified, and wonderfully preserved, as if on purpose to re- 
cord, with tiresome particularity and profusion, the facts that 
were developed during the fulfillment of the times which the 
figuratist supposes to be alluded to here. And there were 
not wanting other historians, heathen, Jewish, and Christian, 
whose pages are filled with matter pertaining to these times. 

The fact to be proved is this — that the judgment visitation 
of the Jews at that time, was, to " all the tribes of the earth," 
such a manifestation, not of common Providence — but of 
" the Son of man" that " all the tribes of the earth " (or land, if 
any prefer) should mourn at this revelation, as if they beheld 
the Son of man visibly coming in the clouds of heaven. In the 
very nature of the case — to do anything like j ustice to the 
text — that visitation should be so unlike all preceding ones, and 
so peculiarly appropriate to the Lord Jesus Christ, as to affect 
the people — even those that were not believers in him pre- 
viously — (for none but such would mourn at the sight of him) 
as if they personally witnessed his descent from heaven. 

The figuratist may perhaps shrink from this definite state- 
ment of the fact in question : he wishes to have the matter so 
indefinite that almost anything will pass for proof. But if 
the text does not warrant and require this definiteness, then 
it does not warrant anything. "To the law and to the 
testimony." 

And even this definiteness is assumed by some of the figu- 
ratists themselves : Bishop Newton says, "The destruction 
of Jerusalem will be as ample a manifestation of Christ's pow- 
er and glory, as if he was himself to come visibly in the clouds 
of heaven." Dr. Clarke says, in substance, the same thing, 
quoting from Newton, and somewhat modifying. Mr. Wat- 
son says the same thing, with the exception that he takes the 
liberty 01 substituting, against the plain words of the passage, 
the word " Christians," in place of " all the tribes of the 
earth." His words are, " The sign of the Son of man is that 
demonstration of the supernatural character of the judicial 



276 HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

visitation of the Jews, that to the Christians it should be as 
sure a sign that it was Christ who was then inflicting his ven- 
geance upon his enemies, as though there should be a visible 
appearance of him." If this substitution of the word Chris- 
tia?is, and entirely omitting the characters who should mourn 
as they see the Son of man, is not a clear misconception of 
the whole scope of the passage, then it would be difficult to 
define a misconception. To such dreadful consequences has 
the labor of defending the figurative theory driven the wisest 
and best of men. 

ISTow, with the question at issue thus definitely settled, that 
the judgments then inflicted upon the Jews did thus manifest 
the, power and glory of Jesus Christ, so that the effect was as if 
he himself had been seen coming in the clouds of heaven, — it is 
again objected, that there is not one clear instance of historic 
proof brought to substantiate the point asserted. Men of the 
largest capacity, and of the most astonishing industry, with a 
zeal almost unparalleled in any other department of research, 
have devoted months and years to this very subject; and 
where is the first historical fact that they have adduced to 
prove a question which, in the nature of the case, must be de- 
cided by fact, if it is decided at all ? Where are their proofs? 
The defenders of the figurative theory were generally men of 
keen penetration, and logical accuracy ; and they have not 
failed to perceive the exact nature of the thing to be main- 
tained. Why, then, have they brought forward nothing but 
assertion — bare assertion — to prove a point so evidently vital 
to their whole system of exegesis ? 

This is a dreadful state of things ; and, especially, when, in 
this way, men venture to explain away the most definite and 
literal of all the prophecies of the Bible, so that, in effect, they 
are dead. Let every man clear himself in this matter ! There 
is a cry of blood from the ground ! These slain witnesses — 
the Old and New Testaments — that have lain unburied in 
the midst of us, are destined to have a resurrection. 

4. To this method of interpretation, it is objected still fur- 
ther, — that the character it necessarily ascribes to Christ is 
inconsistent with his present offices. The only thing in which 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 277 

the calamities of the Jews, at the time in question, differed 
from former and subsequent afflictions of the same kind, was 
their greater severity. " For then shall be great tribulation, 
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, 
no, nor ever shall be." And this is the only probable differ- 
ence between the judgments of that period and those of other 
days : they were not in nature different, but in degree. 

No one ever supposed that previous desolations had been 
manifestations of Christ, as distinguished from other persons 
in the Godhead : no one will venture to point out any espe- 
cial revelation of Christ, as the Son of man, in the present 
manifestations of divine wrath. On what, then, can Bishop 
Newton and his followers base their opinion, that the judg- 
ment of the Jews, at the time in question, was as much a man- 
ifestation of Christ, as if he had been seen coming down in the 
clouds of heaven. How were those sufferings, and that deso- 
lation peculiar, except in being more terrible, and longer con- 
tinued? And is this, only this — the distinguishing feature of 
Christ, so that when this is witnessed, it is as if the Son of 
man himself were seen with all his power and glory in 
heaven % 

Now, to this, it is objected, that the character necessarily 
ascribed to Christ is inconsistent with his present relations to 
the human race — Jew as well as Gentile. It is the dispen- 
sation of grace, not of judgment. Let the TTntversalists re- 
member this ! We are living under the Mediatorial dispen- 
sation, in which Christ sustains a peculiar relation to the 
human race ; and which relation originates appropriate offices. 
Wq may easily learn what is Christ's peculiar office and work, 
in this dispensation, by the testimony of the Scriptures. " God 
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but 
that the world through him might be saved." John iii. 17. 
For this object he labored all his life, as he " went about doing 
good," both to the bodies and to the souls of men. When he 
died, he died as the world's Eedeemer, having the same object 
in view that he had when he " came to seek and to save that 
which was lost ;" for it was only by death that he could pre- 
pare the way for the beatowment of mercy upon the guilty, 



273 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

whom lie came to redeem. And when lie rose from the dead, 
he still had his own appropriate work to accomplish : he was 
raised for our justification. And when he ascended to heav- 
en, he still had his own peculiar work, as the world's Media- 
tor, to accomplish there : he was to " appear in the presence of 
God for us." He was exalted " a Prince and a Saviour, for to 

GIVE REPENTANCE TO ISRAEL, AND FORGIVENESS OF SINS." Acts V. 31, 

This is his peculiar work, during the present dispensation, 
as the " one Mediator between God and man." " He ever 
liveth to make intercession for us." " If any man sin, we 
have an Advocate with the Father." If w T e receive the Spirit, 
or any other favor, it is through his mediation. But it forms 
no part of his appropriate work to administer wrath, or pur- 
sue his enemies with vengeance. If vengeance overtake men, 
Christ has no agency in bringing it about. His work during 
this dispensation is saving men ; and it is his only work : it is 
wholly, so far as Jesus is concerned, a dispensation of grace* 
And this doctrine is understood by all the orthodox churches. 
It is the great bulwark against Universalism and open infidel- 
ity. We sing it, and preach it, and pray it, and give thanks 
for it, and in every possible way testify our rejoicing and 
hope in this doctrine. Now, to say that an unparalleled ex- 
hibition of divine vengeance is such a manifestation of the 
Son of man, that it exhibits his power and glory, as the 
Son of man, as much as if he was himself to come in the 
clouds of heaven, is saying (to speak mildly,) what no ortho- 
dox divine will say, unless he is terribly bewildered by an 
erroneous theory. And for this reason the figurative theory 
of interpreting the passage before us is objected to. 

To maintain the figurative interpretation, we are required, 
(1.) To violate the most essential laws of literary criticism ; 
(2.) To adopt such an interpretation wuthout one clear exam- 
ple in the Scriptures ; (3.) Without a solitary proof from au- 
thentic history ; and, (4.) At the sacrifice of the very foun- 
dation principles of orthodoxy. If this is not enough to blast 
with perpetual withering any theory whatever, it is difficult 
to know what is capable of doing it. 

* See Appendix, Note G. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 279 

5. The figurative theory is objected to, also, because it is at 
variance with itself, and diametrically opposed to the distinct 
affirmation of Christ himself. So that if this can be shown, 
the theory must be unworthy of countenance, even if all the 
previous objections could be answered. 

The advocates of the figurative theory assume. 

First. That the darkening of the heavenly luminaries refers 
to the destruction and desolation of the Jewish ecclesiastical 
and civil polity. Verse 29 is thus explained : 

Dr. Whitby. " All the government both in church and 
state shall be overthrown, as it was by the zealots." " It be- 
ing foretold that this should happen immediately after* the 
wasting of the Jews by Vespasian J s army flying quickly 
through Galilee, Idumea, and Judea ; this cannot be taken 
literally, because no such thing then happened either to the 
sun, moon, or stars. It must be therefore a metaphorical ex- 
pression, to signify, as it doth frequently in the Old Testament, 
and other writers, an utter desolation, and terrible destruction 
brought upon a nation, and upon their capital cities, compar- 
ed to the sun and moon," &c. 

Dr. Clarke. " Commentators generallyf understand this 
and what follows, of the end of the world : but the word im- 
mediately shows that our Lord is not speaking of any distant 
events but of something immediately consequent on calamities 
already predicted : and that must be the destruction of Jeru- 
salem." Then quoting from 

Dr. Lightfoot. " The Jewish heaven shall perish, and the 
sun and moon of its glory and happiness shall be darkened — ■ 
brought to nothing. The sun is the religion of the church ; 
the moon is the government of the state ; and the stars are 
the judges and doctors of both." 

Bishop Newton advances precisely the same opinion as Dr. 
Clarke ; indeed, the principal part of Dr. Clarke's comment on 
this part of the Bible, is taken almost verbatim from Newton. 

Mr. Barnes adopts the same view. 

* Dr. Whitby dare not leave the Lord to make his own statement : he has 
to put words into his mouth. 

\ He probably refers particularly to the more ancient. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Mb. Watson takes the same view ; but he supposes it also 
refers to the day of judgment. 

Prof. Stuart understands the passage to be figurative, ap- 
plying to Jewish affairs, without any reference to the judg- 
ment day. 

Mr. Burkttt adopts the theory of applying it to the Jewish 
calamities ; but he is confused, self-contradictory, and unde- 
cided in fixing upon the exact time. 

This is sufficient to show the general course of explaining 
the phenomena described in the 29th verse, — referring it all 
to the overthrow and desolation of the Jewish nation by the 
Romans. 

Secondly. These confrnentators understand the next verse, 
(30,) and the 29th verse to refer either to the coming of the 
Romans, or to the coming (metaphorically,) of Christ with the 
Romans, and effecting the destruction and desolation descri- 
bed in the 27th verse, under the similitude of the darkening 
and falling of the luminaries of heaven. But whichever way 
it is modified, they do not understand Christ to have come in 
any other way than judicially by the Romans to inflict these 
terrible judgments. 

Dr. Whitby, on verses 27, 28, remarks : "You will then 
need none to instruct you where Christ is, or to say to you, 
He is here, or there ; for by the Roman army, which shall 
pass through the territories of the Jews like lightning, his 
coming to take vengeance on that nation shall be manifest." 
Again, on verse 30 : " Our Saviour's coming here seems 
therefore to impart his coming by the Roman army to besiege 
and to destroy Jerusalem and the unbelieving Jews ; for so 
Christ seemeth plainly to interpret this ' coming of the Son of 
man.' Terse 27 : ' The coming of the Son of man shall be as the 
lightning shining from east to west ; for wheresoever the Jews 
are, thither shall the Roman army be gathered : his coming 
therefore must be vrdh the Roman army." 

Dr. Clarke understands it in the same way : he thinks it 
was a judicial coming by the Roman armies. He comments 
in this way on verse 27 even more distinctly than Dr. Whit- 
by. Dr. Clarke, in this matter, follows 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 281 

Bishop Newton, who understands the coming to be only a 
judicial coming by the invasion and conquests of the Roman 
armies. In this he copies verbatim from 

Bishop Pearce, who should have the credit of leading New- 
ton and a host of others in the same conclusion. 

Me. Barnes adopts the same conclusion : Referring to the 
28th verse, he says, " This verse is connected with the prece- 
ding by the word ' f< >r,' implying that this is a reason for what 
is said there, that the Son of man would certainly come to de- 
stroy the city, and that he icould come suddenly. The mean- 
ing is, Tie would come by means of the Roman armies" &c. 

Mr. Watson understands it in the same way ; but thinks it 
also refers to the day of judgment.' 

Mr. Burkitt in the main agrees with Watson. 

These are enough to show how the coming of the Son of 
man, in this place, is to be understood. It is supposed to be 
nothing separate from the coming of the Roman armies ; it 
being merely a judicicd coming by that instrumentality. 

Now, one thing is absolutely certain : If this coming of 
the Son of man was merely judicial, and by means of the 
Romans, it is absolutely certain that it must have occurred at 
the same time, for it was, in fact, only another view, and an- 
other name, for the same event. 

Thirdly. We are now prepared to maintain the objection 
against this theory of interpretation. 

(1.) That it is at variance with itself ; 

(2.) That it is diametrically opposite to the distinct affirma- 
tion of Christ himself. 

1. That cause is invariably antecedent to effect, is an axiom 
in philosophy. And it is of universal application ; it must, 
then, apply to the subject in hand. 

2. But the Roman armies were, under Providence, the 
cause of this overthrow and desolation of the " sun, moon, 
and stars" — as the figuratist* interprets it — of the Jewish 
people. This is admitted by every one. 

3. Then, as certainly as the certainty of an axiom, the Ro- 
mans must have come before these judgments were inflicted, 
for they were, under God, the cause of them. 



2S2 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

4. But this method of interpretation, as it has been shown 
in the foregoing quotations, maintains as a prominent feature, 
that the coming of the Son of man was only a judicial com- 
ing " by means of the Roman armies, to destroy Jerusalem, 
and the unbelieving Jews." Then, undeniably, it took place 
at the same time — since, in fact, it was but another view, and 
another representation, of the same thing. And, just as cer- 
tainly, as cause is before effect, his coming must have occurred 
before the infliction of the judgments which resulted. And 
the judgment which resulted were, the overthrow of the Jew- 
ish church, government, temple, and metropolis. 

5. But Christ distinctly declares that his coming woidd be 
afterwards ! He first describes the whole series and succes- 
sion of events, down to the final desolation, including, as a 
distinct feature, the gathering of the eagles to the carcass, 
which the theory applies to the coming of the Romans ; and 
then goes on to say, " Immediately after the tribulation of 
those days, shall the sun be darkened," &c. "And then" — 
not before, when the Romans came to inflict the tribulation 
and overthrow — "And then shall appear the sign of the 
Son of man in heaven / and then shall all the tribes of the 
earth mourn ; and they shall SEE the Son of man COIMTNTG 
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." 

6. Was there ever a contradiction more distinct? The 
theory teaches that the Son of man came before the infliction 
of those judgments. The Lord declares it would be after- 
wards. ]STow, this particular point will not be pressed any 
farther : it would be useless. The contradiction is so palpa- 
ble, so undeniable, that if any confidence whatever is to be 
placed in the declarations of our Lord, the point must be re- 
garded as established — completely established. The figura- 
tive theory teaches what is diametrically at variance with the 
declaration of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

7. There is an evasion of this issue, however, which will 
develop the other point in the objection, viz : That the figura- 
tive theory is at variance with itself. The effort has been 
made by several leading commentators to show that the 
" coming " spoken of in the 30th verse is not, in fact, the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 283 

coming it is usually understood to be, but only the evidence 
or manifestation of the coming, judicially by the Romans, 
which was not so clearly discovered during the progress of 
the execution of the judgments ; but now, " after the tribula- 
tion of those days," after the darkening of the "sun," " moon," 
and " stars" of the Jewish nation, the fact that it was all 
effected by the judicial "coming of the Son of man," "by 
means of the Roman armies," will be such a manifestation of 
Christ to the people, that it may be represented by his " com- 
ing in the clouds of heaven ! " 

8. Now, this is, in fact, a virtual abandonment of the essen- 
tial elements of the figurative theory. It is, in truth, admit- 
ting that the most particular statement and description of the 
coming of Christ means neither the coming of Christ person- 
ally, nor his coming judicially, " by means of the Roman 
armies ; " but merely that, after his coming, some length of 
time after, the evidence of that coming shall " come," and be 
so clear and convincing, that it shall he as if Christ himself 
were then coming in the clouds of heaven ! 

What then, let it be asked, with all seriousness, becomes of 
their fond speculations about the " coming of the Son of man, 
by means of the Roman armies," being as the lightning flash- 
ing from east to west, from one end of heaven to the other % 
All this metaphorizing, and rhapsodizing, in the comment on 
the 27th verse, about the coming of Christ, by the Roman 
armies, being like the sudden, startling, blinding, flashing 
lightning, amounts to nothing : when he came at that time, as 
the theory maintains, the people do not appear to have had 
any intimation that there was any Christ about it ; but, some- 
time afterwards, after all the results of that coming had been 
effected, then, yes, then the remnant that survived the over- 
throw of the nation, suddenly awoke to the conviction that 
all this had been accomplished, some how or other, by the 
" coming of the Son of man" though they were not impressed 
with the fact at the time ! But now, so truly had he come in 
"secret," in the "secret chambers," in the " desert," just as 
Christ had forewarned them that he would not come, — now, 
the astonished people, the few that are left, wake up to the 



284: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

terrible impression that the Lord had come down in terrible 
majesty, and they knew it not ! 

Now, after all this, they just begin to see him ! His sign 
appears in the heavens ! They now see him — no, not him — 
but the fact, the proof or whatever else it may be called — 
they now behold, as if it were the actual coming of the Lord 
himself in the clouds of heaven ! Well done ! Splendid 
theory ! Making out that the coming of the Loed, " by means 
of the Roman armies" was so evident, so sudden, so much 
like the flashing lightning, that all the poetic and hyperboli- 
cal expressions found in the Old Testament could hardly 
suffice to convey an adequate idea of its " power," " glory," 
and " public majesty ; " and then — oh consistency ! the peo- 
ple unapprised of it ! and, months or years after, a surviving 
remnant suddenly awake to the appalling assurance that the 
Son of man had come ! that he came so many years or months 
ago ! Now, not really, not as a present perception of a pres- 
ent fact, but as a conception, or conviction, of a fact of pre- 
vious occurrence, they — in recollection, suspicion, or convic- 
tion, or in some other mental operation, " see the Son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory ! " 
Indeed ! Well this must be a valuable theory ! It certainly 
costs a great deal to maintain it ! 

9. But is this maintained by those who support the figu- 
rative theory? Yes, by all of them, excepting those who 
leave the theory at the point where the former part of this 
objection meets it, viz : in diametrical opposition to the affir- 
mation of the Lord Jesus. 

We will now bring to the point more distinctly the opinions 
of those who try to evade that issue by taking the one under 
present notice. Mr. Watson — commenting on the 30th 
Verse — " The sign of the Son of mem is that demonstration 
of the supernatural character of the judicial visitation of the 
Jews, that to the Christians* it should be as sure a sign that 
it was Christ who was then inflicting his vengeance upon his 

* Indeed ! It was " Christians" then, who were to mourn at the appear- 
ance of their Lord! What is this, but adding to, and taking from, "the 
words of this prophecy ? " 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 285 

enemies, as though there should he a visible personal appear- 
ance of him. Even Josephus, a Jew, acknowledged in these 
events the special displays of the more immediate agency 
of an angry God ; * and much more to Christians, taught by 
Christ to expect his coming in this manner , would they be 
the sign of his majesty to whom 'all power in heaven and 
earth' had been committed, and thus prove a mighty confir- 
mation of their faith." f 

Me. Barnes — commenting on the same verse — "The 
sign of the Son of man. The evidence that Christ is coming 
to destroy the city of Jerusalem." % 

Dr. Clarke: — " Then shall appear the sign of the Son of 
man. The plain meaning of this is, that the destruction of 
Jerusalem will be such a remarkable instance of divine ven- 
geance, such a signal manifestation of Christ's power and 
glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall mourn, and many will, 
in consequence of this manifestation of God, § be led to ac- 
knowledge the Christian religion." 

Mr. Burkitt — " Then shall all the tribes of the earth 
mourn ; that is, then shall the Jews be convinced that their 
destruction was the punishment of their sin, in rejecting and 
crucifying Christ ; and accordingly they that had pierced him 
shall behold him, and mourn over him. Thus it was before 
the destruction of Jerusalem, and thus will it be before the 
final judgment." || 

* Did Josephus belong to one of " all the tribes of the earth " who should 
"see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven? " 

\ And yet, as it seems, even these " Christians, taught by Christ to expect his 
coming in this manner" — i. e. as Mr. Watson holds, by the Roman armies, — 
were so blind as not to see him until " after the tribulation of those days! " 

\ How is this ? The evidence that he is coming to do the very thing which 
Mr. B. supposes to have been done previously ; for this is his method of ex- 
pounding the previous verses. 

§ He dare not interpret his own text ; it was a manifestation of Christ that 
he was commenting about. 

| Well, how is this ? Here are several contradictions. In his comment on 
the previous verse, he says, " Our Saviour goes on in figurative expressions to 
• set forth the calamities that should befall the Jewish nation, immediately after 
the destruction of Jerusalem." In commenting on the 30th verse, as quoted 
first above, he says, the Jews would be convinced that their destruction was-— 



286 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Bishop Newton — "The plain meaning of it is, that the 
destruction of .1 urusalem will be such a remarkable instance 
of the divine vengeance, such a signal manifestation of 
Christ's jpower and glory, that all the Jewish tribes shall 
mourn, and many will be led thereby to acknowledge Christ 

and the Christian religion The destruction of 

Jerusalem will be as ample a manifestation of Christ's power 
and glory, as if he was himself to come visibly in the clouds 
of heaven." * 

10. It is useless to extend these quotations : enough have 
been given to show the general course of interpreting the pas- 
sage under notice. This method of treating it brings the theory 
fully upon the point of the objection of which we are now 
treating ; and showing its utter absurdity, and self-contradic- 
tions. It not only does no sort of justice to the text under 
comment, but it completely nullifies all the fanciful interpre- 
tations of the 27th verse, and all the usual applications of the 
" coming of the Son of man," when the particular point of 
objection now under notice is not present to the mind, to ex- 
pose the absurdity of the whole theory. This justly subjects 
the theory to all the animadversions of the 7th and 8th sec- 
tions of the present division of the chapter, which the reader 
is requested once more to read, if it is not already familiar 
to him. 

11. Of the figurative theory of this coming of Christ, it 
may be truly said, that even the most learned and ingenious 
of men, singly or combined, can do nothing satisfactory with 
it. Their writings are full of contradictions, as has already 
been shown ; and they cannot explain the 30th verse without 

this refers to things past — " the punishment of their sin," &c. Then this is 
followed directly with the observation, " Thus it was befoee the destruction of 
Jerusalem." This is a troublesome theory. Great men act strangely in trying 
to maintain it. 

* Does he affirm this of " all the tribes of the earth ? " If he does not, he 
does injustice to his text. If he does, he does injustice to the facts in the 
case. How does it happen that these great masters in Israel are so careful 
not to interpret the Lord's words as he uttered them ? What is there about 
truth that requires such evasions and misrepresentations. This is character- 
istic of error, not of truth. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 287 

utterly overthrowing their own explanation of the 27th and 
29th verses. And, instead of examples from Scripture to 
justify such an application of the description of a scene, with 
its attending and subsequent results ; instead of historical 
proofs of the principal facts affirmed, we have nothing — ab- 
solutely nothing — but the bare assertions of men. The fact 
is, our leading divines have unfortunately been led to adopt 
an erroneous theory of interpretation ; and this occasions their 
embarrassment, indefiniteness, self-contradictions, and palpa- 
ble misconceptions of the words of our Lord. 

The author cannot better express himself on this point, 
than by quoting the observations of Dr. Tower, in his " Il- 
lustrations of Prophecy." And Dr. Tower, be it remembered, 
was an advocate of the figurative theory. But he was too 
penetrating and logical not to perceive the surprising incon 
sistencies of his fellow-laborers in the great work of meta 
phorizing this part of the Lord's prediction. In vol. 2., p. 160, 
he says, 

" That the prophecy of Jesus is of very difficult interpreta- 
tion, is very generally admitted. Grotius, and Lowth, Sykes, 
Benson, and Macknight, Bishop Watson, and the Taylors, 
have, Mr. Nisbitt acknowledges, (he ig here speaking of the 
Scripture doctrine of the coming of Christ,) ' all of them 
without exception, manifestly discovered their embarrassment, 
and the difficulties which they labored under, in considering 
the subject.'' " " Surely," resumes the Doctor, " this affords a 
strong presumption, that they have all failed of discovering 
the true import of Christ's celebrated prediction." 

12. This part of the subject cannot be closed better than 
by quoting the words of this same Dr. Tower, who has mani- 
fested a candor, a comprehensiveness, and, generally speak- 
ing, a soundness, that render his work worthy of a wider cir- 
culation. Yol. 2, p. 192.* Quoting verse 30, the text under 
notice — "The expression translated, all the tribes of the 

* First American edition, Philadelphia, 1808. He had critically examined the 
•works of Joseph Mede, Vitringa, Dr. Thomas Goodwin, Dr. Henry Moore, Dr. 
Owen, Dr. Cressener, Peter Jurieu, Brenius, Bishop Chandler, Isaac Newton, 
Dr. Lowth, Fleming, Bengelius, &c. <fcc, &c. 



288 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

earth. Bishop Newton asserts, signifies merely the Jewish tribes 
inhabiting the province of Judea ; and he maintains, that this 
passage plainly signifies, c that the destruction of Jerusalem 
will be such a remarkable instance of divine vengeance, such 
a signal manifestation of Christ's power and glory, that all the 
Jewish tribes shall mourn.' But unfortunately for this inter- 
pretation, IT IS COMPLETELY AT VARIANCE WITH THE TESTIMONY 

of civil and ecclesiastical history. So far from authorizing 
us to conclude, that the Jews discerned or acknowledged, in 
the destruction of their city, any display of Christ's power ; 
or that they attributed to their rejection of him, and the cruel 
•death which he received at their hands, the overthrow of their 
armies, their capital, and their polity ; it informs us that they 
still insulted the memory of their crucified Messiah, and still 
remained hardened in infidelity." 

This is able, sound, and sustained by positive historical tes- 
timony. For the theory objected to in this Treatise cannot 
boast of a single authentic statement to prove it. 

Dr. Campbell, with his clear perception of logical and lit- 
erary propriety, also speaks of the inconsistency of the usual 
figurative exposition of the subject before us. "The predic- 
tion, which the verse under examination introduces, is accu- 
rately distinguished by the historian as not commencing till 
after the completion of the former. It was not till after the 
calamities which were to befall the Jews should ~be ended / after 
their capital and temple, their last resource, should be invest- 
ed and taken, and the wretched inhabitants destroyed or car- 
ried captive into all nations ; after Jerusalem should be trod- 
den down of the Gentiles ; nay, and after the triumph of the 
Gentiles should be brought to a period, that the prophecy con- 
tained in this and the two subsequent verses [29, 30, 31,] should 
begin to take effect. The judicious reader, to be convinced of 
this, needs only give the passage an attentive perusal" 

Dr. Tower adds, in a note : " So extremely brief are Dr. 
Campbell's observations on our Lord's prophecy, that the pas- 
sage above, to every word of which I subscribe, constitutes a 
large part of them ; and though that passage is accompanied 
with no doubts, the learned translator, nevertheless, in direct 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 289 

opposition to it, renders the 32d verse, [Luke,] " Verily I say 
unto yon, that this generation* shall not pass, until all be ac- 
complished." 

Mr. Mede f speaks in this manner concerning the point 
now in question : " To interpret the coming of the Son of 
man in the clouds of heaven, and his kingdom then, of his 
coming to the destruction of Jerusalem, is contrary to the con- 
text of our Saviour's prophecy / for the coming of Christ % to de- 
stroy Jerusalem, was the beginning and cause of that great and 
long tribulation of that people / but the coming and apypearing 
of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven is expressly said 
should be after it : Immediately after the tribulation of those 
days, &c, Matt. xxiv. 29, Mark xiii. 24. To the same purpose 
Luke says, after, or when the ' times of the Gentiles are ful- 
filled, then shall be the signs in the sun and moon, and then 
they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud." 

13. There is just one thought more that did not occur at the 
time of writing the section more appropriate, perhaps, for 
containing it ; although it is not inappropriate in this connection: 
it is this : Those who seek to evade the issue of direct contradic- 
tion of the words of the Lord, by explaining the seeing the 
Son. of man coming in the clouds, to be only becoming con- 
vinced that the calamities of the Jews were inflicted judicially 
by the Son of man, — do not appear to have noticed the tense 
of the word coming. The entire force of their argument re- 
quires that it should be understood in the past tense : the peo- 
ple now become painfully convinced that their calamities 
were occasioned by that Jesus whom they had crucified. 

* Dr. Campbell and Dr. Tower differed in their understanding of the origi- 
nal term ysvsa. 

\ Joseph Mede was reputed to be, as in the language of Dr. "Warburton, 
u the greatest divine and scholar" of the age of James the First. 

A learned bishop thus represents him, " CooL deliberate, and severe in 
forming his judgments, he was so far from being obsequious to the fancies of 
other men, that he was determined only by the last degree of evidence, to ac- 
quiesce in any conclusions of his own." 

\ Mr. Mede seems to have admitted, perhaps for argument sake, however 
that in some sense Christ may be said to have come to destroy Jerusalem, 

19 



290 HAEMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

They are now convinced that this was the fact in the 
case. And the defenders of this explanation maintain that 
this perception or impression of that fact is what is meant by 
their seeing him coming in the clonds of heaven ! 

But now see how perfectly this perverts the words of our 
Lord : First should appear the sign of the Son of man in heav- 
en ; and the people would begin to mourn ; and they should 
see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven. Their per- 
ception of him should oe at the very time that he was comixg. 
This, the figuratist positively and distinctly denies. He main- 
tains that when the Son of man came — as they explain it, " by 
means of the Roman armies" — the people did not perceive 
him ; though they apply to his coming the illustration of the 
blazing lightning, in verse 27. But, " after the tribulation of 
those days," when the sun, moon, and stars of their state and 
church had become darkened, in consequence of the judg- 
ments which the Son of man inflicted at his corning, by means 
of the Romans, — then — after all this — then the unbelievers 
become so convinced that it was the work of Christ, that it was 
as great a demonstration as if they had seen him coming in 
the clouds of heaven. The figuratist makes it necessary to 
understand the passage as teaching that they would perceive 
that he had come. But Christ declares they should see him 
coming. Which is most worthy of 3«lief ? 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 291 



CHAPTER XII. 

Principal subject — Judgment Advent of Christ. The trub 

Exposition. 

Order of Events — Sign of the Son of Man — Distinguished from Christ him 
self — "Where it will appear — Its Nature — Difference between a Sign and 
a Wonder — The Sign the occasion of universal Mourning — The Reason — 
Effect upon the Jews — A day of salvation to them — The Reason — A 
Scene of mourning among the Jews — Occasion and Result — Literal Com- 
ing of Christ — Scoffers, and their Excuse — Believers, and their Danger — - 
The Personal Coming Proved — Source of the knowledge of the Thessalo- 
nians — Design of the Parables in connection with the Prophecy — Christ's 
application of the Parables — The Judgment at his Coming — Extent of 
Time embraced in the Prophecy — Conclusion of the Prophecy. 

Verse 30. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven ; 

AND THEN SHALL ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH MOURN, AND THEY SHALL SEE THE SON 
OF MAN COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. 

Having shown the palpable inconsistency of the usual fig- 
urative interpretation of this passage, its literal exposition 
will now be given. 

"Then shall appear." 

The word then denotes the order of succession in the great 
events predicted in this part of the discourse. After the signs 
in the heavens, the perplexity and distress of the nations, and 
the agitation of the sea, which the Lord had just predicted,* 
then should occur the scenes which are subsequently described. 

1. The first in order will be the sign of the Son of man. 
Some do not distinguish the sign from the Son of man him- 
self. But they are clearly distinguished in the text, and sep- 
arated by the mourning of the people. Not only so, but, in 
the nature of the case, a sign cannot be the thing signified ; 
if it were, it would not be a sign. An alphabetic letter is the 

* The reader must refer to the Harmony to understand fully the relation of 
these things. And he should consult the Harmony with respect to many 
other 



292 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

sign or representation of a certain sound ; but it is not the 
sound which it represents. Words are the signs of ideas ; 
but they are not the ideas which they signify. It is attribu- 
ting to our Lord an improper use of language, to suppose that 
by the sign of himself he meant himself, and not a sign. 
"What this sign may be, he has not seen fit to inform us ; and 
conjecture may mislead us. It will not be wise, therefore, to 
occupy much time in an effort to ascertain the precise nature 
of that sign. There are some things, however, which we may 
ascertain with respect both to its nature and design. 

(1.) It will appear " in heaven." It will not be anything 
transpiring on the earth. Neither will it be any ordinary 
phenomenon among the luminaries of heaven ; for if it were, 
it could not he a sign of any particular person or thing, since 
it would have been seen before, and might be explained with- 
out any special signiflcancy in its design. 

(2.) It must, in the nature of the case, be luminous. This 
is indicated by the original word for appear. But it must be 
luminous from this single consideration : it will appear, or 
shine, at a time of total darkness. The sun will be previously 
turned to darkness, and the moon and the stars will have 
withdrawn their shining. All the great sources of light be- 
ing thus totally obscured, whatever shall appear must be lu- 
minous in its nature. 

(3.) And it seems evident, also, that it must have some defi- 
nite form: a mere blaze, or limitless glow of light, being 
without any definite form, could not, so far as we can appre- 
hend, be significant of the Son of man, unless it had been pre- 
viously designated as having this particular signification. 
Without this previous notice, it might indeed be a wonder, 
but it could not be a sign. Of what shape this sign may be, 
we must remain uninformed until it shall appear! It may he 
a luminous cross. In ancient times, many of the Christian 
fathers advanced such a conjecture. Whether it will be so or 
not, one thing is certain : we cannot probably think of any- 
thing, which, to the whole world, would so clearly suggest 
the religion and person of the crucified Lord. In what na- 
tion would the sign of the cross be unsignificant ? Even 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION 293 

now, is it not the distinguishing symbol of Christianity and 
its divine Redeemer ? God may even overrule the idolatrous 
superstition of the Romish church, in a way, perhaps, which 
has not been previously suggested. But on this delicate point 
the author would not venture to advance anything more than 
a simple suggestion. 

(4.) Whatever it may be in nature, and whatever in form, 
it will be " the sign of the Son of man." And this is but say- 
ing, after all, that it will be something by which " all the 
tribes of the earth" shall understand what it signifies : it will 
be, to them, a sign so clearly understood in its signification as 
to cause them to mourn.* 

This part of the prediction was probably designed to an- 
swer the inquiry of the disciples, " What shall be the sign of 
thy coming ?" He does not see fit to give them all the par- 
ticulars respecting it ; but he informs them that it would ap- 
pear in the heavens, visible, and significant to all / and he 
tells them when it it would appear, as it will be related to 
other events. See Note H, in the Appendix. 

2. The second thing predicted is, the universal mourning 
when this sign appears. " And then shall all the tribes of the 
earth mourn." Evidently this must be restricted to the wick- 
ed among the tribes of the earth : it cannot include those who 
" look for him," to whom he " shall appear the second time, 
without sin unto salvation." Those who, " love his appear- 
ing" certainly cannot mourn when they discover the sign of 
his glorious appearing ; for now " their redemption draweth 
nigh." The heathen will of course mourn, for they will now 
discover that their destruction is near : they will not mistake 
the import of the sign. And, besides, the previous convul- 
sions and portents in earth and heaven will terribly perplex 
and distress them, as they gather in battle array against the 
" remnant of Israel," whom now it is God's pleasure and de- 

* Mr. Wesley's note is to the point: speaking of the words under notice, 
he says the sign will appear, " It seems, a little while before he himself de- 
scends. The sun, moon, and stars being extinguished, (probably not those 
of our system only,) the sign of the Son of man (perhaps the cross) will ap- 
pear in the glory of the Lord." 



294: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

termination to save. The appearance of the " sign of the Son 
of man in heaven " will now awfully assure them of the sig- 
nification and design of all this commotion in the sea, in earth, 
and heaven. It will terribly increase the " distress of na- 
tions, with' perplexity." 

To the unbeliving Jews, too, it will be a time of great 
mourning ; though, by the gracious purpose of God, it will 
be a sorrow unto repentance and salvation. The appearance 
of the sign of their crucified Messiah, in these awful circum- 
stances, and the unmistakable import of that sign, will at 
once convince them of their obstinate infidelity, and long, 
long rejection of their own Redeemer. Their rejected and 
insulted Christ, appearing thus, may seem to come in anger 
towards them ; but the sequel will show that it is the day of 
Israel's deliverance and hope. This, through grace, will give 
them brokenness of heart and contrition of spirit ; to per- 
ceive that, after all, he does not appear to destroy them, ac- 
cording to the multitude and greatness of their provocations, 
but according to the many and gracious promises made unto 
their fathers, to save their posterity, for his own name's sake, 
and in fulfillment of his own gracious covenant with them. 

"With this conviction of their aggravated unbelief and wick- 
edness, by the discovery of the sign of the Son of man, fol- 
lowed, too, by the appearance of himself in the clouds of 
heaven ; and with the immediate discovery that he comes 
not to punish, but to save them ; the astonishing forbearance 
and forgiving goodness will break and melt their stubborn 
hearts. They will, in this state of mind, understand why, 
notwithstanding all their iniquities, they are made the objects 
of redeeming mercy. Now will be realized the astonishing 
grace of God, and his faithfulness and friendship for their fa- 
thers and their posterity. Ezek. xxxvi. 19 : " And I scattered 
them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through 
the countries : according to their way, and according to their 
doings, I judged them. 21. But I had pity, for mine holy 
name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the 
heathen, whither they went. 22. Therefore, say unto the 
house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God, — I do not this for 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 295 

youe sakes, O house of Israel, but foe mine holy name's sake, 
which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye 
went." He now, as from Egypt, Ps. cvi. 8, saves them "for 
his name's sake, that he might make his power to be known." 
They will now clearly perceive that it is not on account of 
their being better than others, or less ill-deserving, but as re- 
corded in Deut. x. 15, " Only the Lord had a delight in thy 
fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even 
you above all people, as it is this day." Deut. ix. 5 : " Not 
for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart, dost 
thou go to possess their land ; but for the wickedness of these 
nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out before thee, 
and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware 
unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" Deut. vii : 
" Because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the 
oath which he had sworn unto your fathers." At the time 
specified in the text under comment, when the Lord might be 
expected to destroy, but gloriously comes to save, — to save 
even a guilty and ill deserving people, — it will truly appear 
that it is " not for their salces or uprightness of heart; " " but 
for his own name's sake, and to fulfil the word which the 
Lord sware unto their fathers." Thus will it be seen in that 
day, that " God hath not cast away his people whom he fore- 
knew." Rom. xi. 2. And it will be clearly understood by 
the Jews themselves, that it is in fulfillment of the covenant 
made with their fathers, and not because they do not deserve 
God's displeasure for their sins. The seed of Jacob that re- 
main to be delivered, will be " a remnant according to the 
election of grace." Rom. xi. 5. Yerse 6, " And if by grace, 
then it is no more of works / otherwise, grace is no more 
grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace / oth- 
erwise, work is no more work." 

The salvation of Israel at that day will be seen to be just 
as much a work of sovereign grace as their conversion was, at 
the time the apostle wrote the epistle to the Romans. In the 
former part of the chapter last quoted the apostle speaks of 
the unbelief of the Jews, and their general rejection of the 
gospel. But in the latter part he clearly speaks of the very 



296 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

time now treated of, when, for his own name's sake, and to 
keep the covenant made with their fathers, lie appears to 
save them at the fullness of the times of the Gentiles. Yerse 
28, " As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your 
sakes ; but as touching the election, they are beloved foe the 
fathers' sakes. 29. For the gifts and calling of God are 
without repentance." This clearly points to the very time 
now nnder consideration, as the context shows, when, at the 
" fullness of the Gentiles," (verse 25,) the blindness which had 
happened to Israel shall be taken away. 26. " And so all 
Israel [all who remain until that time] shall be saved ; as it 
is written, (Isa. lix. 20,) There shall come out of Zion the 
Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." 
The context of this latter quotation evidently points to the 
very time now being considered. 

It is thus that the goodness of God, and a sense of his faith- 
fulness, joined with a painful discovery of their own wicked- 
ness, will lead them to repentance. All these quotations, and 
multitudes more, clearly refer to these latter days of Israel, and 
to the specific time of their final triumph over their foes. Per- 
haps this scene of penitent mourning to Israel is not described 
anywhere more distinctly, than in Zech. xii., xiii., and xiv. 
Chap. xii. 9 : " And it shall come to pass in that day, that I 
will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusa- 
lem." It will not be a time of calamity to the Jews, then, 
for, verse 28, " In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabi- 
tants of Jerusalem ; and he that is feeble among them at that 
day shall be as David ; and the honse of David shall be as 
God, as the angel of the Lord before them." Now r let it be 
distinctly observed, that it is to be precisely at this very 
time, — this time of deliverance — ■ that the general mourning 
shall be witnessed among the Jews of all classes. Yerse 10. 
" And I will pour npon the house of David, and upon the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplica- 
tions ; AND THEY SHALL LOOK UPON ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED, 

and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only 
son ; and shall be in bitterness for him, as one is in bitterness 
for his first born. 11. In that day shall there be a great 



HAIiMONY AND EXPOSITION. 297 

mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in 
the valley of Megiddon.* 12. And the land shall mourn ev- 
ery family apart ; the family of the house of David apart,f 
and their wives apart ; the family of the house of Nathan 
apart, and their wives apart," &c. Chap. xiii. 1 : "In that 
day there shall be a fountain opened in the house of David, 
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for unclean- 
ness." 

This surely cannot relate to the general opening of the foun- 
tain of salvation for the whole world, which was done at the 
death of Christ ; but for that special cleansing which will 
then be realized by the guilty, unworthy, but now penitent 
Jews. This is the precise time, as described by St. Paul, 
Rom. xi. 26, when, at the fullness of the Gentiles, until which 
time Jerusalem shall be trodden dowm. (Luke xxi. 24,) and at 
which time the blindness shall be removed from the remnant 
of Israel ; — " Then there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, 
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." Yerse 32. 
" For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might 
have mercy upon all." And is this, reader, a depth of riches 
to you incredible ? Is it a judgment to you unsearchable ? 
Is it a way past finding out ? Do not therefore disbelieve it ; 
but read the next verse, and see how it appeared to St. Paul. 
Yerse 33, " O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom 
and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judg- 
ments, and his ways past finding out !" 

This is the precise time when God will not only restore 
them to their own land, never to he removed again, but will 
bring them spiritually to himself. Ezek. xxxvi. 24 : % " For I 
will take you from among the heathen, and will gather you 
out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. 
25. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall 

* See 2 Kings, xxiii. 29. 2 Chron. xxxv. 24. 

•j- The house of David, and the people of Judah would be distinguishingly 
prominent in the general mourning ; for they will recollect that the crucified 
Messiah was of the tribe of Judah, and of the family of David. 

% Read the context, particularly, from the 16th verse, and consider God's 
reason for doing so, as declared in verses 21, 22, 32. 



298 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

be clean ; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, 
will I cleanse you. 26. A new heart also will I give you, 
and a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away 
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart 
of flesh. 31. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and 
your doings that were not good, and shall loath yourselves ln 
your own sight for your iniquities, and for your abomina- 
tions, 31. Not for your saees do I this, saith the Lord God, 
be it known unto you : be ashamed and confounded for your 
own ways, O house of Israel." 

How perfectly this corresponds with the great mourning, 
when all the families shall mourn — not in sight of each other, 
but every family apart, in their own sight ! The great mourn- 
ing, then, so far as the Jews are concerned, is mourning over 
sin, of which the appearance of their pierced Messiah has 
clearly convicted them : their sorrow is a godly sorrow that 
worketh repentance unto salvation.* 

The reader may not now be prepared to receive this doc- 
trine ; but let him not hastily reject it : there is yet much more 
proof to be considered. " And they shall see the Son of man' 
coming in the clouds of heaven." 

Having already devoted much time to the inconsistencies 
and insufficiency of the figurative theory of interpreting this 
passage, it will be appropriate now to proceed directly to the 
literal teaching of these words. 

1. The Son of man will come. There have been thus far 
from the beginning of these " last days," or days of the Mes- 
siah, some who have been constantly saying, " Where is the 
promise of his coming ?" And, truly, if the " scoffers," as St. 
Peter calls them, (2 Pet. iii. 3,) have had access to the wri- 
tings of the defenders of the figurative theory, they may well 
ask, where is the promise ; for even this passage, one of the 
most evidently literal, and one of the most unmistakable of 
all the Scriptures that promise his coming, has been, of late 
years, almost uniformly expounded so as not to mean the real 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This has been sufficiently 
proved in previous chapters. And it has been done, too, by 

* See note I, in the Appendix. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 299 

those who have professed to believe in his coming, and who 
have been obliged to acknowledge that the language and 
" costume" of the ideas might have been, and probably were, 
derived from, or suggested by the real coming of the Son of 
man. But in relation to the specific promise of his coming, 
they have given occasion to this sneering inquiry of the scof- 
fers. The figuratists have, indeed, pointed out some few pas- 
sages that could not he conveniently metaphorized to mean 
something else, and intimated that those passages probably, or 
certainly, should be understood literally ; but the scoffer has 
not been able to perceive why those passages should be inter- 
preted literally, and such passages as the one under notice 
figuratively. He has not discovered any rule for such meth- 
ods of interpretation ; and he looks upon it as a system of 
guess work, where men, left without any certain guide, are at 
liberty to follow their own creeds and fancies. 'No wonder, 
then, that Universalism, and all the other semi-infidel, and 
wholly infidel, speculations obtain, which do not look for any 
literal, visible, judgment-coming of the Son of man. But the 
Son of man will come. The promise is here, and in very many 
portions of both the Old and the JSTew Testaments. 

2. The proofs of his coming are too numerous to be quoted in 
a work like this. A few of them, however, cannot be out of 
place ; for not only do scoffers need to see them, but even be- 
lievers, the multitude of them, are so little convinced and im- 
pressed with the fact, that they are not "looking for, and 
hasting unto the day of the coming of God ;" but are living 
so, and are instructed so, that if the day of the Lord should 
now come, " as a thief in the night," it would come as a snare 
on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. 

"When our Lord ascended to heaven, he went up bodily, 
and visibly, and a cloud received him out of sight. Acts i. 
10 : " And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as 
he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ; 
[angels, undoubtedly;] 11. Which also said, Ye men af Gal- 
ilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? this same Jesus 
which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, w 
like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven" If this 



300 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

does not touch unequivocally the reality, personality, and vis- 
ibility of the second advent, then it is not in the power of lan- 
guage to do it. To the same import is the declaration of St. 
Paul, 1 Thess. iv. 16 : " For the Lord htmself shall descend 
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 
and with the trump of God." The addition of the word 
" himself" was perhaps intended so to define and restrict the 
meaning of the apostle, that no common perversion could ever 
succeed in obscuring the passage. 

3. It is admitted by all who believe in the doctrine of the 
resurrection, that it will occur at the coming of the Lord Je- 
sus. And the reality and the personality of his coming are 
just as distinctly taught, as the reality and personality of the 
resurrection of the dead. Speaking on this subject, St. Paul 
says, (1 Cor. xv. 23,) " Christ the first fruits ; afterwards, they 
that are Christ's at his coming." So Phil. iii. 20: "For our 
conversation, [tfoXiVeufAa,] citizenship, is in heaven, from whence 
also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ : 21. "Who 
shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto 
his glorious body." To the same import is the passage before 
quoted from 1 Thess. iv. 15-17, where the expressions, " re- 
main unto the coming of the Lord" " the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven" " caught up . . in the clouds to meet 
the Lord" — all are connected with the resurrection of the 
dead, and must be understood literally. 

4. His coming is also spoken of in connection with the as- 
sembling and rewarding of his people. Thus, 2 Thess. ii. 1 : 
" Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him." 
Chap. i. 10 : " When he shall come to be glorified in his saints." 
2 Tim. iv. 10 : " Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall 
give me at that day :* and not to me only, but unto all them 
that love his appearing." Titus ii. 13 : " Looking for that 
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and 
our Saviour Jesus Christ." Col. iii. 4 : " When Christ, who 
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in 

* Mentioned in the 1st verse. See it quoted hereafter. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 301 

glory." 1 John iii. 2 : " We know that when he shall appear, 
we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is." 1 Thess. 
i. 10 : " And to wait for his Son from heaven" Chap. ii. 19 : 
"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ?* Are 
not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his 
coming f" Chap. iii. 13 : " To the end he may establish your 
hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, 
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." 

5. And the coming of Christ is also spoken of in connection 
with the judgment of the living and the dead. 2 Tim. iv. 1 : 
" I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus 
Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appear- 
ing and his kingdom." 2 Thess. i. 7 : " And to you who are 
troubled [he will recompense] rest with us, when the Lord 
Jesus shall he revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 

8. In naming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not 
God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; 

9. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from 
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 

10. When he shall come to he glorified in his saints" &c. 

6. This " revealing " of Christ "from heaven" this " com- 
ing" of Christ, this "appearing" this "glorious appearing" 
this " descending from heaven" all are spoken of in connection 
with what must be regarded as strictly literal, and, of course, 
what is affirmed of Christ must, according to all wholesome 
rules of interpretation, be explained as literal. Any theory 
that would explain away the literality of his coming, as de- 
scribed in these, and many other similar passages, could ex- 
plain away anything else, and everything else, that is revealed 
in the Bible. Yet none of these passages is more evidently 
literal, or even as particular in description, as the text at the 
head of this chapter. 

7. Li the parables which form a continuation of the Lord's 
prophetic discourse, the same literal events are predicted and 
described, that we find in connection with the many passages 
which have been already quoted. For instance, the parable 

* They would be seals of their ministry, and stars in their crown of glory 
at that day. . 



302 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION, 

of the cliief servant, Matt. xxiv. 45-51. In the case of his 
unwatchfulness and improper behaviour, as he was saying 
" in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming. Yerse 50, " The 
lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not 
for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of. 51. And 
shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypo- 
crites : there shall he weeping and gnashing of teeth? 

How perfectly this corresponds with the results of Christ's 
judgment-coming, as related in the quotation from 2 Thess. 
i. 7-10 ! And it also has the same correspondency with 1 
Thess. chap, v., where the apostle continues his discourse 
about the coming of the " Lord himself ? " to raise the dead and 
change the living. Yerse 2 : " For yourselves know perfect- 
ly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in" the night. 
3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety ; then sudden 
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with 
child ; and they shall not escape. 4. But ye, brethren, are 
not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 
6. Therefore let us not sleep as do others ; but let us watch 
and be sober? 

ISTow here are some very remarkable things, which are 
worthy of the deepest thought. How came these Thessaloni- 
an brethren to know perfectly that the day of the Lord, to 
raise the dead and change the living, would so come as a thief 
in the night f There is no evidence or intimation that they 
learned it from Paul, or from any of the apostles. 

The expressions similar to this which are found in Revela- 
tion and the epistles of Peter, were written subsequently to 
this letter to the Thessalonians. Is it not sufficiently evident 
that their perfect knowledge of this matter was derived from 
our Lord's repeated and varied declarations and illustrations 
in the very prophecy which we are examining ? Our Lord 
himself used this very illustration of the thief in the night I 
And he also illustrated the unpreparedness of the wicked and 
the slothful by this very reference to the eating and drinking 
with the drunken / And it was our Lord also who specifical- 
ly admonished them to watch for his coming ! And this sud- 
den destruction from his presence, of which Paul speaks, our 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 303 

Saviour first set forth in the destruction of the servant that 
did not look and watch for the coming of his master ! And 
the necessity of being in readiness for the coming of the Lord, 
to receive his people into his presence and glory, that Paul 
speaks of in so many places, was first distinctly taught by our 
Lord in his prophetic discourse, by the parable of the ten vir- 
gins. He uttered this illustrative parable expressly to enforce 
the admonition, " Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the 
day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." And in 
this parable the destinies of the final judgment are distinctly 
set forth : As, for example, the midnight cry, Behold, the 
Bridegroom cometh ! It is in this character that he is repre- 
sented as coming at the last day. See Rev. xix. 7-9. And 
the final separation of characters at the last day, and the clo- 
sing up of the day of salvation, are distinctly set forth by the 
sequel of the parable. 

And the final judgment and rewards and punishments are 
distinctly taught in the parable of the servants, as recorded in 
connection with the Lord's discourse. Matt. xxv. 14-30. 
There was the Lord's departure from his servants, after giving 
them their charge. (Verse 15.) Then, " after a long time" 
the master returned to reckon with them : that is, to bring 
them to judgment Then, to the faithful, there is the reward, 
by exalting them to dominion, (verse 23,) and entering into 
the joy of their lord. Now, is not this precisely what St. 
Paul has taught in some of the passages previously quoted, 
where the whole is associated with the return of the Lord Je- 
sus, the awakening of the dead, and the receiving of the saints 
into glory with himself? And so, likewise, with the final 
punishment of the wicked, when he comes in glory, as it is 
set forth in the parable, (verse 30,) by casting the unprofita- 
ble servant into outer darkness, from the presence of the Lord 
and the glory of his power. 

It appears evident that this very prophecy of our Lord, in 
connection with the parables which are combined with it, form- 
ed the great text book from which the apostles and primitive 
Christians mainly derived, not only their doctrines, but their 
illustrations, of the second advent and the destinies that 



304 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

shall result ! And thus was fulfilled our Lord's avowed in- 
tention of keeping his words before the church in all ages : 
" And what I say unto you, I say unto all : watch !" 

JVow, let it be distinctly noticed and remembered, that our 
Lord himself applied these very parables to his second coming ! 
Let the reader open to the twenty-fifth of Matthew, and ex- 
amine the connections between the preceding and the succeed- 
ing statements of his coming. The parables begin in connec- 
tion with predictions of his coming, (verse 42,) and they close 
at verse 30 ; then comes the formal application : verse 31 : 
" When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his 
glory : 32. And before him shall be gathered all nations ; 
omd he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd di- 
videth his sheep from the goats? This is not a merely temporal 
judgment ; it is the determination and execution of eternal 
destinies. Yerse 34, " Then shall the king* say unto them 
on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 
Yerse 41, " Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, 
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for 
the devil and his angels." Yerse 46, u And these shall go 
away into everlasting punishment ; but the righteous into 
life eternal? Thus closes this wonderful prophetic discourse. 
Beginning with events which occurred soon after his ascen- 
sion, the Lord has given an unbroken, though — of necessity 
• — a very brief account of the principal events, relevant to the 
inquiries which originated the discourse, during the long 
lapse of time from his ascension to heaven, in his Mediatorial 
office, to his descending again, in his kingly dignity.f 

This, then, is the coming of which he speaks in the text 
now under comment. " And they shall see the Son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." 
In Rev. i. 7, we find his coming described in almost the same 
words. And, in truth, the scene is evidently the same. " Be- 

* The Son of man, when he comes in his kingdom, comes in his kingly char* 
acter. So it is described in many other places. See Dan. vii. 13, 14. 
f See Note J, in the Appendix. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 305 

hold, he cometh with clouds : and every eye shall see him : 
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him !" 

Let it be distinctly remembered, too, that this passage in 
Revelation was written after the destruction of Jerusalem, and 
it cannot, therefore, have any reference to that event. No- 
thing is more easily and indubitably proved from authentic 
history. 

The reader has been detained a long time in the examina- 
tion of our text. But this subject is of too much consequence 
to be passed over in a hurry. Besides, it was supposed that 
this method of elucidating the passage, by comparing it with 
others, would be more successful than any other. All this la- 
bor might have been dispensed with, however, if the wisdom 
of men had not been virtually exalted above the wisdom of 
God, in the present common methods of interpreting this part 
of our Lord's prophecy. 

In this Treatise it has been the constant aim of the author 
to speak " as the oracles of God ;" and by appeals " to the 
law and to the testimony," to call attention more to the words 
of Inspiration, and less to the sayings of men. 
20 



306 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



, CHAPTER XIII. 

Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. Review of vari- 
ous Expositions. 

Applied by some to the Escape of Christians from Judea — Objection founded 
on the Chronology of the Events — Objection from its being unwarranted 
by the Language of the Text — Also from its conflict with Christ's own 
Declaration — Difference between the Comment objected to and the Words 
of Christ — Encouragement of Sceptics — The passage applied to the Call 
of the Gentiles — Review — Misapplication of Texts — Erroneous Impres- 
sion — The Issue taken — Limitation of the Gospel to the Jews — "When the 
Gentiles were called — How extensively the Gospel prevailed previously 
to the Fall of Jerusalem — St. Paul's Testimony — Eusebius' — Mosheim's — 
Surprising Statement — When the Gospel Kingdom began — Result of the 
Fall of Jerusalem — State of the Church subsequently — Professor Stuart's 
Opinions — His method and spirit of treating the passage — Is it a literal 
Trumpet? — Extremities of the Heavens — Whence are the Elect to be 
gathered? — Difference between Accuracy and Literality — God's Trum- 
pet — Can the Dead hear? — Illustrations. 

Verse 31. And then shall he send his angels, with a great sound of a 

TRUMPET, AND THEY SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, 

[Mark: from the uttermost part of the earth,] from one end of heaven to 

THE OTHER. 

Those who see nothing but Jerusalem and the Jews, or 
other things relating to the Koman war, in the prophetic 
scenery so impressively portrayed in this part of the prophecy, 
must, of necessity, interpret this verse so as to mean some- 
thing exceedingly different from what it appears to mean, and 
what no man would ever be likely to suppose, if he had not 
a favorite and troublesome theory to sustain. And it is truly 
painful to observe the far-fetched, unauthenticated explana- 
tions which the defenders of the figurative theory have given 
to this passage. According to some, " It means, that God 
shall send forth his messengers — whatever he may choose to 
employ for that purpose — signs, wonders, human messengers, 
or the angels themselves, and gather Christians into a place 
of safety, so that they shall not be destroyed with the Jews." 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 307 

Will the reader do himself the favor to read the passage of 
which this quotation is designed to be, in part, at least, an 
exposition ? 

The author from whose comment the quotation is copied, 
appears himself to have had little or no confidence in the ex- 
position which he adopted, for he immediately adds, " If it 
refers to the last j udgment, as it doubtless in a primary or 
secondary sense does, then it means that he will send his 
angels to gather his chosen, his elect, together from all places. 
This shall be done before the living are changed." 

How exceedingly and uncomfortably indefinite to minds 
bewildered by an erroneous theory, must appear this definite, 
unfigurative prediction ! First, suppose it to refer to an 
occurrence that is no more described by it than almost any 
other in the history of mankind. Then, unsatisfied with the 
palpable inconsistency of that explanation, introduce, with a 
significant if, a supposition that it may refer, either in a pri- 
mary or secondary sense, to the last judgment ! 

As this is a common method of treating this passage, it is 
worthy, for that reason, to receive a little attention. That 
Christians are sometimes entitled "the elect," is certainly 
true. That they will be finally collected together, and by the 
angels, too, is just as certain. But that the passage refers, in 
any sense, to the escape of Christians from the calamities that 
befell the Jews, is most distinctly denied. It is utterly with- 
out proof. 

The same commentator remarks on another page, that " it 
might here refer to deliverance granted to his people in the 
calamities of Jerusalem. It is said there is reason to believe 
that not one Christian perished in the destruction of the city, 
God having in various ways secured their escape, so that they 
fled to Pella, where they dwelt when the city was destroyed." 
Now, to such an application of the text, whether adopted in 
full, or in part, it is appropriate to object: 

(1.) It violates the chronological order of the discourse ; for 
the gathering of the elect is to take place after the coming of 
the Son of man, which is itself to be after the darkening of 
the luminaries, which darkening is to occur after the tribula- 



308 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

tion of those days. And it is certain that the tribulation of 
those days was brought down to the siege and overthrow of 
Jerusalem. This was so understood by the very commenta- 
tor whose language is above quoted ! How, then, can this 
gathering of the elect refer to any period previous to the 
siege, so as to save Christians from suffering that siege, and 
yet not occur until some time afterwards ? 

Does the author referred to, and others adopting the same 
method of exposition, really mean that they should be gath- 
ered together, and delivered from the sufferings of the siege, 
after the siege was past, and the tribulation of those days 
ended f Can it be possible, either that they should not per- 
ceive, or, perceiving, nevertheless adopt, such a palpable 
inconsistency ? How can it be explained that writers of the 
greatest capacity have entertained such a view of this gather- 
ing of the elect ? 

(2.) Another objection to this interpretation is, that it is 
utterly unwarranted by the language it professes to explain. 
Our Lord declares that he would " send his angels, with a 
great sound of a trumpet" for the purpose of gathering his 
elect. Now, what was there in the escape of the disciples 
from Jerusalem that deserves to be called the sending of the 
angels, and the great sound of a trumpet ? By what rule of 
interpretation do we apply such definite language to anything, 
and to everything that any and every one may fancy ? Did 
our Lord mean anything ? or did he speak entirely at random, 
using definite terms without any particular intention ? If by 
angels, and a great sound of a trumpet, nothing especial was 
meant, then let it be so understood, and let this method of 
interpretation be applied also to other prophecies, and see 
what would become of the Bible. 

(3.) A third objection to this interpretation is, that it flatly 
contradicts the repeated, unequivocal statement of the Lord 
himself. His statement is, that the gathering of the elect 
should be 'from the four winds, from the uttermost part of 
the earth, from one end of heaven to the other" If this does 
not teach that the gathering should be from all parts of the 
habitable globe, then it is not in the power of language to do 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 309 

it. But what says the explanation which is objected to? 
Why, it says it was a gathering together from Jerusalem — 
a single city — or, at most, from Judea ! And this is an 
interpretation of the Saviour's language ! Suppose such lib- 
erties should be taken with almost any other part of the 
Scriptures; would it not awaken the remonstrances of the 
disciples of Christ everywhere ? 

In addition to this objection, it may be replied, also, that 
the escape of Christians from Judea and Jerusalem was not a 
gathering, but a dispersion. It is true that some of them, 
probably quite a proportion, fled to Pella beyond Jordan. 
But it appears from history, and also from the direction of 
Christ, that — not Christians only, but many others — fled 
" to the mountains" and there lived as best they could in the 
dens and vallies of the hilly regions, that were not likely to 
be visited by the Koman armies. And there their sufferings 
were so great that " for the elect's sake those days were 
shortened." And yet this flight and dispersion of Christians 
and others, from a single city or country, in obedience to 
Christ's own personal advice, without any unusual voice, mes- 
sage, or means, — this is what we are to understand by send- 
ing " his angels, with a great sound of a trumpet, to gather 
together the elect from the four winds, from the uttermost 
part of the earth, from one end of heaven to the other ! " 
Yerily, the figurative theory is very liberal and accommoda- 
ting ! And this is the method of interpreting one of the most 
momentous, definite, systematic, and unfigurative prophecies 
of the Bible ! ~No wonder that sceptics and infidels cavil at 
a book that receives such treatment from its professed friends ! 
There is another method of explaining this gathering of the 
elect, which is, if possible, more objectionable than the for- 
mer ; because it is not only inadequate, and unauthentic, but 
positively inconsistent with sound theology. It is stated by 
Newton on the Prophecies, p. 363, thus : " This is all [the 
verse before us] in the style and phraseology of the prophets, 
and stripped of its figures, meaneth only, that after the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, Christ by his angels or ministers will 
gather to himself a glorious church out of all the nations under 



310 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

heaven. The Jews shall be thrust out, as he expresses him- 
self in another place, (Luke xiii. 28, 29,) ' and they shall come 
from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and 
from the south ; and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.' 
]STo one ever so little versed in history needeth to be told, that 
the Christian religion spread and prevailed mightily after this 
period ; and hardly any one thing contributed more to the 
success of the gospel than the destruction of Jerusalem, fall- 
ing out in the very manner and with the very circumstances 
so particularly foretold by our blessed Saviour." 

This is the other branch of the figurative theory of inter- 
preting this verse ; and it is met with in several of our most pop- 
ular Commentaries, somewhat modified, it is true, but essen- 
tially the same. Dr. Clarke, for example, comments thus : 
" 31. He shall send his angels'] Tovguyyikng, his messengers, the 
apostles, and their successors in the Christian ministry. 
With a great sound of a trumpet^] Or, a loud-sounding trum- 
pet — the earnest, affectionate call of the gospel of peace, life, 
and salvation. Shall gather together his elect] The Gentiles^ 
who were now chosen, ox elected, in the place of the rebellious, 
obstinate Jews, according to our Lord's prediction, Matt. viii. 
11, 12, and Luke xiii. 28, 29. For the children of the king- 
dom, (the Jews, who were born with a legal right to it, but had 
now finally forfeited that right by their iniquities,) should be 
thrust out. It is worth serious observation, that the Christian 
religion spread and prevailed mightily after this period : and 
nothing contributed more to the success of the gospel, than 
the destruction of Jerusalem happening in the very time and 
manner, and with the very circumstances so particulary fore- 
told by our Lord. It was after this period that the kingdom 
of Christ began, and his reign was established in almost every 
part of the world." 

It would be difficult to find a paragraph of the same length 
that contains more of truth and more of error than the quota- 
tion from Newton, as modified and extended by Dr. Clarke. 
To reject wholly, would be rejecting important evangelical 
truths. To receive it as it is found in their works, would be 
receiving impressions entirely at variance with Scripture and 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 311 

authentic history. The texts referred to are totally misapplied, 
and the things asserted, respecting the spread of the gospel, 
without being altogether false, are, nevertheless, untrue in the 
impression which they are calculated to produce in the mind. 
And as for the remark, that " it was after this period that the 
kingdom of Christ began" it is totally at variance with the 
express teachings of the Scriptures, and just as contradictory 
to Dr. Clarke's own commenting in other places. 

In reviewing this singular, yet very common explanation, 
it may be observed, First, That the impression which the 
statement concerning the spread of the gospel is calculated to 
produce, is, that previous to the overthrow of the Jewish na- 
tion, the gospel was quite limited in its success, and confined 
mostly, or entirely, to the Jews ; but that after the fall of Je- 
rusalem, the gospel was extended to the Gentiles, and for the 
first time, spread to all the nations of the earth. By the an- 
gels is understood "the apostles and their successors." By 
the trumpet, " the earnest, affectionate call of the gospel of 
peace." By the elect, " the Gentiles, who were now chosen, or 
elected, in place of the obstinate, rebellious Jews." By send- 
ing the angels to gather the elect, " meaneth only, that 
after the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ by his angels or 
ministers will gather to himself a glorious church out of all 
nations under heaven." 

Now, if such an interpretation has any propriety or force, 
it must arise from the consideration, that, previously to the 
fall of Jerusalem, the apostles had not been sent to the Gen- 
tiles ; for this is intended to explain " Then shall he send his 
angels," &c. And it has to be supposed, likewise, that, pre- 
viously to the time mentioned above, the gospel trumpet had 
not been sounded in the remote portions of the earth ; for 
this is intended to explain the gathering of the elect " from 
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 

We may now come understandingly to the issue, in refer- 
ence to the point before us. 

This whole impression is totally at variance with the 
facts ln the case. 

1. In relation to the supposition of the previous limitation 



812 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

of the gospel to the Jews. Nothing is more clearly taught in 
the Scriptures, than that, long previously to the fall of Jeru- 
salem, the gospel trumpet was extensively and effectually 
employed in gathering in the Gentile nations. After Peter 
had used the key of the kingdom, in the admission of Corne- 
lius and his family, the door was effectually opened for the 
ingathering of the Gentiles. To whom was St. Paul espe- 
cially commissioned to go ? "Was it not to the Gentiles ? 
What did he mean by affirming that the middle wall of par- 
tition was broken down, and that the Gentiles were no more 
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, but fellow citizens 
with the saints, and of the household of God ? And who 
were the Romans, the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Ephe- 
sians, the Philippians, the Colossians the Thessalonians, and 
those who composed the great body of the churches during 
the apostolic age ? Were they not generally Gentiles ? Yet 
all this was previous to the fall of Jerusalem. To convey 
the impression, then, that the call of the Gentiles was de- 
ferred until after that event, is directly at variance with the 
Scriptures. Yet on this supposition depends almost the en- 
tire relevancy and force of the usual exposition of the text 
before us. 

2. As to the other implied supposition, that it was not until 
after the destruction of the city, that the gospel trumpet was 
sounded in the distant portions of the world, — it is equally 
at variance with the Scriptures, and directly opposed to au- 
thentic history. St. Paul, who died several years before the 
Roman war, yet lived to write, (Rom. x. 18 :) " But I say, 
Have they not heard ? Yes, verily, their sound went into 

ALL THE EARTH, AND THEIR WORDS UNTO THE ENDS OF THE WOULD. " 

Again, (Colos. i. 5-6 :) " Whereof ye heard before in the 
word of the truth of the gospel, which is come unto you, as 
it is in all the would." In the 23d verse he declares dis- 
tinctly, that the gospel which they had heard " was preached 
to every creature under heaven." Yet this was before the 
fall of Jerusalem. 

That these passages mean just what they say, as to the gen- 
eral extent of the gospel call, is proved by unimpeachable 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 313 

historic testimony. Eusebius says, B. 3. chap. 1, " But the 
holy apostles and disciples of our Saviour, being scattered over 
the whole world, Thomas, according to tradition, received Par- 
thia as his allotted region ; Andrew received Scythia ; and 
John Asia ; where, after continuing for some time, he died at 
Ephesus. Peter appears to have preached through Pontus, 
Galatia, Bythinia, Cappadocia, and Asia, to the Jews * that 
were scattered abroad." " Why should we speak of Paul, 
spreading the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum, 
and finally suffering martyrdom at Pome under Nero ?" f 

Mosheim, also, referring to the apostolic age, speaks thus 
distinctly, Part 1, chap. 4: : " And when they had exercised 
their ministry, during several years, at Jerusalem, and brought 
to a sufficient degree of consistence and maturity the Chris- 
tian churches which were founded in Palestine and the adja- 
cent countries, they extended their views, carried the divine 
lamp of the gospel to all the nations of the world, and saw 
their labors crowned almost everywhere with the most abundant 
fruitsP Again — • " The apostles, having finished their work 
at Jerusalem, went to diffuse their labors among other nations, 
visited with that intent a great fart of the known world, and 
in a short time planted a vast number of churches among the 
G entiles P 

Once more — " When we consider the rapid spread of 
Christianity among the Gentile nations," &c. He still speaks 
of the apostolic labors, previous to the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem. Here is still another — " The event sufficiently declares 
this ; for, without those remarkable and extraordinary circum- 
stances, no rational account can be given of the rapid propa- 
gation of the gospel throughout the world." Again — " Such 
then were the true causes of that amazing rapidity with which 
the Christian religion spread itself upon the earth." 

And all this was previously to the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem. What, then, becomes of the supposition, that the gos- 

* Peter, it seems, was especially the apostle to tlie Jews, as was Paul to the 
Gentiles. 

\ The historian asks, Why should we speak of this ? It was so universally 
known and considered, that it seemed unnecessary to repeat it. 



314 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

pel trumpet was not sounded among the Gentile nations until 
after the fall of Jerusalem ? It amounts to nothing ; or, ra- 
ther, it amounts to a palpable contradiction of both Scripture 
and history. Who can deny this conclusion ? 

3. These testimonies from the Scriptures and from history 
also utterly overthrow the strange notion of Dr. Clarke, that 
the Gentiles were not chosen or elected, until after the fall of 
Jerusalem. This sentiment he expresses in these words — 
" Shall gather together his elect — the Gentiles, who were now 
chosen or elected, in place of the rebellious, obstinate Jews, ac- 
cording to our Lord's prediction. Matt. viii. 11, 12, and Luke 
xiii. 28, 29." 

The Doctor was now, of course, as the whole connections 
show, referring to the period after the fall of Jerusalem. He 
also adds this most surprising declaration — " It was after 
this period that the kingdom of Christ began, and his reign 
was established in almost every part of the world." How 
such a notion could consist with any proper idea of the king- 
dom of Christ, it is not easy to comprehend. Does the king- 
dom of Christ, spoken of in this connection, mean the gospel 
dispensation? Then, certainly, it began previously to the 
fall of Jerusalem. It was preached as being " at hand," at 
the beginning of our Lord's ministry. And he himself de- 
clared, Matt. xii. 28 : " If I by the finger of God cast out 
devils, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." St. Paul 
declared to the Colossians, that they had been translated into 
the kingdom of Christ. Col. i. 13. The whole tenor of New 
Testament teaching implies that the Mediatorial or gospel 
kingdom was begun, at the latest, as soon as the Lord Jesus, 
being exalted at the right hand of the Father, had shed forth 
the spirit at Pentecost. 

Does the kingdom of Christ, as thus used, mean the church 
under the gospel dispensation? Then, of course, it must 
have begun as soon as the church was duly organized ; which 
was certainly effected long before the fall of Jerusalem. If 
not, how could the apostles have gone into all the world, as 
they certainly did, preaching the gospel unto all nations, and 
gathering vast multitudes into churches ? To maintain the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 315 

notion here objected to, respecting the beginning of the king- 
dom, and the time of choosing the Gentiles to be fellow-citi- 
zens with the saints, and of the household of God, (Eph. ii. 
19,) absolutely requires that we should give up, not only all 
authentic historical testimony, and several distinct declara- 
tions of the Scriptures, but also our established doctrines re- 
lating to the nature of the gospel kingdom, and the time and 
method of establishing the Christian dispensation. And 
nothing but the saddest bewilderment by an erroneous theory 
of exegesis could have led such generally excellent and able 
divines into such inconsistent, unscriptural notions respecting 
some of the plainest teachings of the New Testament. 

4. And to represent, too, that immediately after, and in 
consequence of, the destruction of Jerusalem, the church be- 
gan anew its extension and triumphs, so as to justify the rep- 
resentation of "then" sending abroad the angels into all the 
world, is not only without any proof from Scripture or histo- 
ry, but contradictory to both. The most that can be gathered 
from history merely shows that the gospel continued to pre- 
vail during the second century, as it had, with " amazing ra- 
pidity," as Mosheim has it, prevailed over the world during 
the apostolic age. There was no beginning of an era in re- 
spect to this matter ; no " then," after the fall of the city, to 
correspond with the language of the prophecy. There was 
nothing new, or noticeable, in the labors or success of the church, 
to correspond with the distinctly marked " then " in the words 
of Christ. 

Besides, both Scripture and history show that fearful back- 
sliding and heresy affected the church, at the very time that 
it is claimed to have spread with such rapidity, after the fall 
of Jerusalem. The letters to the seven churches in Asia show 
how it was in that quarter ; and the history of that period speaks 
of numberless heresies and calamities that corrupted and 
crippled the church. Mosheim treats particularly of the va- 
rious causes of the rapid spread of the gospel, not only before, 
but after, the fall of the city ; but so far as the author has 
been able to discover, he has in no way affirmed or intimated 
that the destruction of Jerusalem had any influence in pro- 



316 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

moting the prosperity of the church. Probably there cannot 
be found a single clear testimony to prove such an assump- 
tion. What then becomes of all these confident affirmations 
in regard to the unparalleled extension of the church, after, 
and in consequence of, the fall of Jerusalem ? And what is 
there to justify the common method of expounding the text 
before us, by applying it in this manner ? Let him answer 
who can. 

Before proceeding to the true interpretation of the text, it 
may be expedient to notice the method and manner of Profes- 
sor Stuart's treatment of the passage, in the Bibliotheca Sacra, 
July, 1852. 

But let the reader first notice, and distinctly remember, the 
varied, yet definite, expressions of the prophecy, and then 
read the irreverent criticisms, or cavilings, perhaps, of the 
Professor. 

"And he shall send his angels with the loud sound of a 
trumpet. The angels are always at his bidding, ' swift to do 
his will.' But the trumpet ? A literal one ? And the time f 
Is it at the general judgment ? Then how can the literal 
sound of a trumpet reach the ears of the unnumbered dead, 
who have slept in dust for thousands of years ? The bare idea, 
if literally taken, is of course a manifest absurdity." Again : 
"And they shall gather together his elect, from the four 
winds, from the extremities of the heavens unto their extremi- 
ties. From the four winds, means, from every direction. 
Four points constituted the whole compass of the Hebrews. 
But what literally are the extremities of the heavens ? Do 
the elect live there, so as to be summoned from those places? 
or have they died, and then been buried there % The extrem- 
ities of the heavens, if literally, would be, we hardly know 
where. The fixed stars are a part of the Hebrew heavens ; 
and can our text mean from their extremities ? Surely not. 
The phrase merely means, from one extremity of the earth to 
the opposite one, wherever the elect may be found ; at least, 
it means so, in case a universal gathering is meant here. I 
suppose Mark has explained it by the saying :' ' From the ex- 
tremity of the land, to the extremity of heaven. But is the 



HABMONY AND EXPOSITION. 317 

gathering together to be interpreted as literal f Or, does it 
mean, the affording to them an assylum or place of refuge 
from the evils which would overtake the wicked,* like the 
promise that the Messiah should * gather the lambs in his arms, 
and carry them in his bosom'? Isa. xl. 11." Again — "Fi- 
nally, the elect are to be gathered * from (sx, out of) the four 
winds.' Are there, in point of fact, no more than four ? And 
if liter ality be insisted on, then we. may ask whether the elect 
live in those winds, and so are to be gathered out of them ?" 
And again, resuming his quibbling on the expression, from 
the extremities of the heavens, — and showing, very truly, 
how the Hebrews commonly used such terms, — "After all 
these explanations and modifications, we may now ask : What 
can be the meaning of literally gathering the elect from the 
very extremities of the earth and the heavens ? Do they — 
will they live at the Arctic and Antarctic poles ? These are 
extremities, indeed ; but not such ones as will be inhabit- 
ed, methinks, when the trumpet shall sound for the assembling 
of the elect." 

Now, what does all this quibbling about our Lord's own 
language amount to, but to show that the author of it was 
resolutely bent on maintaining the figurative theory of inter- 
pretation, at all hazards ; even to the almost — if not quite — 
ridiculing of the very idea of any literal gathering of the elect, 
even at the final coming of Christ ? He does not seem to have 
had the faintest idea that there is any difference between lib- 
erality and scientific accuracy. 

Suppose we adopt the method of interpreting figuratively 
all the expressions in the Bible that do not quite comport with 
modem scientific accuracy / what would become of God's rev- 
elation to men % There would be nothing left of it, unless it 
might be the bare skeleton ; and that would be all dislocated 
and shattered into fragments. 

The question is not, what may the language be made to 
mean, or what would it import in a professedly and rigidly 
scientific treatise, but what was the common understanding 

* He understood the gathering of the elect to refer, some how or other, to 
events subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem. 



318 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

and use of the language in colloquial discourse. With this 
consideration, there was not only no indefiniteness, no impro- 
priety, no departure from the usual literal use and under- 
standing of the same language, but, on the other hand, our 
Lord conformed both to the scriptural, colloquial, and histori- 
cal use of such language, where flgurativeness — in the proper 
sense of the term — is altogether out of the question. The 
same quibbling with any other book would be deemed inex- 
cusable. And as it relates to the almost scoffing at the idea 
of a trumpet being employed in the final gathering of the 
elect, because, forsooth, he does not understand " how the lit- 
eral sound of a trumpet can reach the ears of the unnumbered 
dead, who have slept in dust for thousands of years — the 
bare idea of which, if taken literally, is of course a manifest 
absurdity;" — as to this matter, it is only necessary to say, 
that the Scriptures declare that it will he so, and the declara- 
tion is in those portions that even Prof. Stuart did not dare to 
interpret figuratively. 

Take, for example, 1 Cor. xv. 51 : " Behold, I show you a 
mystery : We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 
52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; 
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 
incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Thess. iv. 16 : " For 
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God ; and 
the dead in Christ shall rise first" 

But the Professor did not see how the literal sound of a 
trumpet was going to wake the " unnumbered dead, who have 
slept in dust for thousands of years." 

Indeed ! But can he comprehend how the blowing of rams 
horns overthrew the walls of Jericho ? Or how Moses* rod 
brought a river out of a flinty rock ? Or how the same rod, 
held in one position, caused Israel to prevail ; held in anoth- 
er position, let Amalek ? Or, to come a little nearer to our 
own times, can he explain how the carpenter's son opened the 
eyes of the blind with a little moistened clay ? Or how he 
restored defective and missing members by a touch of his 
finger ? Besides all this, did he properly consider the differ- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 319 

ence between " the trump of God," and a common trumpet, — 
a military trumpet, for instance, or a dinner horn ? 

There is doubtlessly as much difference between the trumpet 
of God and the trumpets of men, as between the voice of God 
and a human voice. What can a man's voice do ? Some- 
thing, certainly ; it can gather a battalion of soldiers around 
an uplifted standard ; or give direction to a war-ship upon the 
deep. But (Ps. xxix.) " The voice of the Lord is upon the 
waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of 
the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh 
the cedars ; yea, the cedars of Lebanon. The voice of the 
Lord divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord sha- 
keth the wilderness ; yea, the Lord shaketh the wilderness of 
Kadesh." "When there was no sun, and no light, and no world, 
God tried his voice. " He spake, and it was done ; He com- 
manded, and it stood fast!" "And God said, Let there be 
light, and there was light !" " By the word of the Lord 
were the heavens made ; and all the host of them by the 
breath of his mouth ! " 

Now, if any man will undertake to calculate the nature and 
power of the divine trumpet, by association with the instru- 
ments used by man, why not do the same with respect to 
God's voice, and God's word? 

But the Professor met with another difficulty : " Is it a 
literal trumpet, one literally heard by sleeping dust and ashes 
of countless millions ? That would be a very forcible exege- 
sis, which should give literal ears and hearing to lifeless dustP 
Astonishing ! "Well, now, it would be useless to engage in a 
logomachy about this matter; and, as facts are stubborn 
things, suppose we test this matter by facts. The thing to be 
ascertained is, whether " lifeless dust" can hear a literal voice. 
If so, perhaps " lifeless dust" might hear a trumpet, provided 
the same being should use it. " Lazarus, come forth !" "Will 
the Professor please ascertain whether this " lifeless dust" had 
literal ears to hear that literal voice ? Let us try again : " Ta- 
litha-cijmi ! " Did that dead child hear that voice ? But 
there must be literal ears in order to hear a literal voice, or a 
trumpet ! 



320 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

"Well, let us try the winds and the waves. " Peace I Be 
still ! " Whether the wild winds, and the Galilean waters 
had literal ears to hear that literal voice, is the question. 

Notwithstanding the irreverent quibbling that has provoked 
these few remarks, is it not enough for us to know that " the 
hoar is coming in which all that are in their graves 
shall hear his voice, and shall co?ne forW ? Whether " life- 
less dust" will have literal ears, or not, is but of little conse- 
quence, provided they hear, and live. But this method of 
caviling and quibbling with sacred things is deserving of uni- 
versal reprehension. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. 

Tlie True Exposition — A Universal Gathering — Who are the Elect? — Ap- 
plied to believing Gentiles — Scripture Proofs — Election of the Gentiles — 
To what Privileges — For "what Reason — Applied to the Israelites — Scrip- 
ture Proofs — Reason of their Election — Chosen as a People — By an ever- 
lasting Covenant — They should be preserved Forever — St. Paul's View — 
Two great Divisions of the Elect — Relation of the two — Relation of the 
two-fold Gathering — How the dead will be Gathered — Design of the Res- 
urrection — Hope of the ancient Saints — Who will be raised at the first 
Resurrection — The Elect in two Conditions — God's purpose to gather them 
all — When — Where — Why — How — Views of the Apostolical Church — 
Gathering of those who will be alive at the coming of the Lord — The final 
Assembly — Examples of Gathering of the Elect — Design of the Transfig- 
uration on the Mount. 

Verse 31. And he shall send his angels with a geeat sound of a trumpet, 

AND THEY SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, FROM ONE END 
OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER. 

The more agreeable labor remains, of giving the true in- 
terpretation of this passage. And this will be done princi- 
pally by referring, with a few observations, to other portions 
of the Scriptures which apply to the same subject. For hav- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 321 

ing shown the palpable inconsistency and untenableness of 
the common figurative interpretation, it is not necessary to 
linger in this part of the labor. It would be much easier to 
amplify the subject to a volume, than to condense it to a sin- 
gle chapter. The gathering of the elect will be one of the 
most astonishing and glorious transactions of the closing up 
of the present, and opening of the coming, dispensation. The 
text clearly teaches a universal gathering of the elect, for in 
the most emphatic manner, according to the Hebrew idiom, 
it affirms that they will be brought in from all directions and 
from all distances. 

But who are intended by the Elect ? "To the law and 
to the testimony." 

First, That true "believers among the Gentiles are entitled 
the Elect, is too plainly and too frequently taught in the 
Scriptures to be called in question by any one. St. Paul's 
epistle to the Ephesians — who were mostly Gentiles — fully 
sets this matter forth to the comprehension of all. Chap. i. 
3 : " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly 
places in Christ. 4. According as he hath chosen us in him, 
before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy 
and without blame before him in love. 5. Having predesti- 
nated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to him- 
self according to the good pleasure of his will." Chap. ii. 
11 : " Wherefore, remember that ye being in time past Gen- 
tiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which 
is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands ; 12. 
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from 
the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants 
of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. 
13. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye, who sometimes were far off, 
are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14. For he is our 
peace, who hath made both [Jews and Gentiles] one, and hath 
broken down the middle wall of partition between us ; 15. 
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, (the law of com- 
mandments in ordinances,) for to make in himself of twain 
one new man, so making peace ; 16. And that he might rec- 
21 



322 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

oncile both [Jews and Gentiles] unto God in one body [the 
church, which is the body of Christ] by the cross, [by his 
sacrificial death on the cross,] having slain the enmity there- 
by : 17. And came and preached peace unto you [Gentiles] 
that were afar off, and to them [Jews] that were nigh. 18. For 
through him we both [Jews and Gentiles] have access by one 
spirit unto the Father. 19. Now, therefore, ye are no more 
strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, 
and of the household of God." [God's family or peoj)le.] 
Chap. iii. 5 : " Which in other ages [former times] was not 
made known unto the sons of men, [generally] as it is now 
revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit ; 
6. That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same 
body, [the church] and partakers of his promise in Christ by 
the gospel." 

These long quotations have not been selected on account of 
their having the word election, or elect, brought out with 
prominence ; but because the identical thing called election 
is so fully set forth and described with reference to its fact, 
nature, and application to the Gentiles. And because, like- 
wise, it so clearly represents their election as being of the 
same nature and intention, with reference to salvation by 
Christ, as the election of the Jews. 

Their election to salvation was through Christ. Hence Paul 
wrote to the [Gentile] Galatians, (iii. 29,) " And if ye be 
Christ's, then are ye Abraham's [spiritual] seed, and heirs 
according to the promise." As just quoted above, (verse 6,) 
" That the Gentiles should be . . . . . partakers 
of his promise tn Christ, by the gospel." Hence Paul could 
say to the Thessalonians, (1 Thess. i. 4,) " Knowing, breth- 
ren beloved, your election of God." And, (2 Thess. ii. 13,) 
" But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, 
brethren beloved in the Lord, because God hath from the be- 
ginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctifi cation of the 
Spirit, and belief of the truth." So he could say to the Col- 
ossians, (iii. 12,) " Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, 
holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness," &c. In the 
Bame way could Peter (1 Pet. i. 1,) say to the " strangers scat- 



HARMONY AND EX POSITION. 323 

tered abroad throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, 
and Bythinia," verse 2, " Elect according to the foreknowl- 
edge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, 
unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." 
Chap. ii. 9 : " But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priest- 
hood, an holy nation,* a peculiar people ; that ye should show 
forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness 
into his marvellous light : 10. Which in time past were not 
a people, but are now the people of God ; which had not ob- 
tained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." This harmoni- 
zes with the words of Paul. Rom. ix. 24 : " Even us whom 
he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gen- 
tiles : 25. As he saith also in Osee, [Hosea ii. 23,]f I will 
call them My people, which were not my people ; and her 
beloved, which was not beloved." 

This election of the Gentiles was distinctly taught in the 
great apostolic council at Jerusalem, which was convened on 
the occasion of the conversion of multitudes of Gentiles. 
Acts xv. 13 : " And after they had held their peace, James 
answered them, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me. 
14. Simeon [Simon Peter] hath declared how God at the first 
[in the case of Cornelius] did visit the Gentiles, to take out 
of them a people fop. his name." [To be called by his name.] 
These many passages (and there are many others) sufficiently 
show that believers among the Gentiles are, to all intents, the 
people of God / they are chosen, elected, brought into cove- 
nant relations, are partakers of the promise made unto the fa- 
thers, are Abraham's spiritual children, and heirs of a heav- 
enly inheritance. Among the elect who are to be gathered 
from all directions, and from all distances, are the believing 
Gentiles. 

Secondly. That God has other elect people — people who 
have from the beginning sustained that title — is just as clear 

* Not in the political sense. This refers to the Gentile Chistians, as must 
be evident from the next verse. 

f It is clear from the connections that Paul understood this to refer to the 
Gentiles , but the passage in Hosca is not as clear in relation to this applica- 
tion. 



82rt HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

from the Scripture. The natural descendents of Israel have 
been from the beginning the people of God in a peculiar sense, 
if not in the highest spiritual sense. God chose the descend- 
ents of Jacob from all other people, that they might bear his 
name, and sustain covenant relations with him such as do not 
belong to any other people. This is taught in a multitude of 
places in the Bible ; let a few passages suffice as examples ; 
Deut. vii. 6 : " For thou art an holy people unto the Lord 
thy God : The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special 
people unto himself abaoe all people that are upon the face 
of the earths Their election, however, was not on account 
of their natural superiority in numbers : Terse 7 : " The Lord 
did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were 
more in number than any people ; for ye were the fewest of 
all people." 

Neither was their election founded on their superior excel- 
lence, as God often took occasion to remind them. Verse 8 : 
" But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep 
the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers." Chap x. 
15 : " Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, 
and he chose their seed after them, even you, above att. 
people, as it is this day. 

It was in virtue of the original covenant made with Abra- 
ham, Isaac and Jacob that God not only elected their posterity 
to be his peculiar people, but continued to regard them as his 
people through all their rebellions and chastisements. The cov- 
enant, on God's part, was everlasting and irrevocable, out of 
respect to the oath sworn unto Abraham. Gen. xvii. 7 : " And 
I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy 
seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting cove- 
nant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8. 
And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land 
wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an 

EVERLASTING POSSESSION ; AND I WILL BE THEIR GoD." 

This covenant of God was not made with the individuals, 
as individuals, but with the people of Israel, as a distinct gen- 
eration of people. So that God might, without breaking his 
covenant, destroy multitudes of individual Israelites, until the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 325 

generation or race was reduced to a mere remnant ; yet lie 
would preserve the race as a distinct generation of people, out 
of regard to his everlasting covenant. 

There are very many passages directly upon this point ; 
but we call attention to only a few as specimens. In Leviti- 
cus, chap, xxvi., which the reader is requested to peruse, we 
have a prediction of the terrible destructions and desolations 
which should befall them on account of their iniquities, until 
they should be reduced to the last extremities, as if God had 
utterly abandoned them. But God would not forget his cove- 
nant to he the God of the seed of Jacob. Yerse 42 : " Then 
will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my cove- 
nant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I 
remember ; and I will remember the land. [Then desolate.] 
43. The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her 
Sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them ; and they 
shall accept the punishment of their iniquity ; because, even 
because they despised my judgments, and because their soul 
abhorred my statutes." 

So dreadfully would the Jews depart from keeping their 
part of the covenant. Yerse 44 : " And yet foe all that, 
when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast 

THEM AWAY, NEITHER WILL I ABHOR THEM, TO DESTROY THEM UT- 
TERLY, and to break my covenant with them ; for I am the 
Lord their God. 45. But I will, for their sokes, remember 
the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of 
the land of Egypt, in the sight of the heathen, that I might be 
theer God. I am the Lord !" With this understanding of 
the unchangeableness of the Lord's covenant to be their God 
forever, we may perceive the force of such passages as the fol- 
lowing, which was uttered at a time when he was terribly 
threatening his people : Mai. iii. 6 : " For I am Jehovah, I 

CHANGE NOT ; THEREFORE YE SONS OF JACOB ARE NOT CONSUMED !"* 

This people are still, in the same sense as formerly, under 

* Our Lord appears to have had this specific thing in view, when, after pre- 
dicting the calamities of the Jews for eighteen hundred years, he declared — 
u E ysvsa a.vTr\ — This race, lineage, or generation, shall not pass away till all 
these things be fulfilled." 



326 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the security of the same oath, the chosen, the elect, the cove- 
nant people of the unchangeable God. Time after time the 
Lord has given the most solemn assurances that his covenant 
should never be violated, though Israel should do wickedly, 
and be wasted with j udgments. Such assurances as the follow 
ing quotations express are not to be misunderstood. 

Isa. liv. 5 : " For thy Maker is thy husband : The Lord of 
hosts is his name ; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel : 
The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 6. For the 
Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in 
6pirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy 
God. 7. For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; but with 
great mercies will I gather thee. 8. In a little wrath I hid 
my face from thee for a moment ; but with everlasting kind- 
ness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. 
9. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me : for as I have 
sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the 
earth ; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, 
nor rebuke thee. 10. For the mountains shall depart, and 
the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from 
thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, 
saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." 

Jer. xxxi. 35 : " Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun 
for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the 
stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the 
waves thereof roar : The Lord of hosts is his name : 36. If 
those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then 
the seed of Israel also shall cease from bein^ a nation before 
me forever. 37. Thus saith the Lord : If heaven above can 
be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out 
beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that 
they have done, saith the Lord." 

It would seem as if the Lord had done all that he could to 
express the unchangeableness of his covenant with Israel, as 
a generation, or race of people. What has been quoted is 
only a small part of the multitude of expressed remembrances 
and assurances that he would continue to be their God for- 
ever, and that they should be kept from being consumed ; 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 327 

like the burning bush in Mount Sinai which Moses saw, ever 
burning, but never consumed. 

They are still his elect, chosen for Jacob his servant's sake, 
and preserved according to the everlasting covenant made 
with Abraham. 

How appropriately, then, and how affectingly did Paul 
speak, in Rom. xi. 1 : "I say, then, Hath God oast away his 
people ? God fobbed ! For 1 also am an Israelite, of the seed 
of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin, 2. God hath not 
oast away his people which he foree2*ew. Wot ye not 
what the Scripture saith of Elias ? how he maketh interces- 
sion to God against Israel, saying, 3. Lord, they have killed 
thy prophets, and digged down their altars ; and I am left 
alone, and they seek my life." 

"Would not he cast them away for all this ? Let us see. 
Yerse 4 : " But what saith the answer of God to him ? I have 
reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed 
the knee to Baal. 5. Even so, then, at this present time also, 

THEEE IS A REMNANT ACCORDING- TO THE ELECTION OF GRACE." 

Ah, but, saith unbelieving man, who thinketh God's ways, 
and God's thoughts, are like his own ways and thoughts, — ■ 
who forgetteth the sovereignty of God, and his faithfulness as 
a covenant keeper, — what have the Israelites done that they 
should be thus favored, after all their misbehavior ? What 
works of well deserving have they to boast, that God should 
distinguish them by favors % On what ground of goodness 
on their part did they obtain, or do they still retain, their 
election f 

Let St. Paul answer : Yerse 5 : " Even so at this present 
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of 
grace. 6. And if by grace, then is it no more of works ; oth- 
erwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it 
no more of grace : otherwise work is no more work. 7. What 
then ? Israel [in general] hath not obtained that which he 
seeketh for : but the election (verse 5,) hath obtained it, and 
the rest [of the nation] were blinded." Yerse 25 : " For I 
would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mys- 
tery, (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits,) that blind- 



328 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ness in part hath happened to Israel, until the fullness of the 
Gentiles be come in. 28. As concerning the gospel, they [the 
unbelieving part] are enemies for your sakes : but as touch- 
ing the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. 29. 
Foe the gifts and calllng of God are without repentance." 
God will not repent of his choice. Nothing is plainer than 
that God still regards the descendants of Israel as his own 
people, his covenant people, his called people, his chosen, his 
elect people. 

Thus we learn from the Scriptures that the elect are com- 
prised in two great divisions, the believing Gentiles, and the 
children of Israel. Now, as the Lord Jesus has broken down 
the middle wall of partition between Jews and believing 
Gentiles, so as to make of twain one new man in himself; 
and as the Christian Gentiles are now reckoned as fellow- 
citizens with the saints, and of the household of God ; as the 
Gentiles, by becoming Christ's, become the spiritual seed of 
Abraham, the father of the faithful ; and as, in this way, they 
become heirs of the promise ; therefore, it is but reasonable 
to suppose, that, in the final gathering of the elect, to enjoy 
the promised inheritance, the believing Gentiles and the seed 
of Jacob will be gathered into one ; that the other sheep 
which were not originally of the Jewish fold, shall be gath- 
ered with the Jews, so that there may be one fold and one 
Shepherd. The Lord Jesus will come the second time to 
redeem all his people ; and will not therefore overlook either 
portion of those who are in covenant relation with himself. 

It is certain from the Scriptures that the believing Gentiles 
will, in some way, enjoy the felicities and glories of the natu- 
ral descendents of Jacob in the day of their final triumph ; 
though the precise manner in which the joint happiness shall 
be enjoyed does not appear to be clearly set forth in the 
Scriptures. 

We may expect, then, that the elect, all of the elect, will 
be gathered together in the great day of the final deliverance 
of the saints. And this will be done in immediate connec- 
tion with the coming of the Lord, as the Saviour has taught 
us in the text under comment. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 329 

"When St. Paul had occasion to refer to this gathering of 
the saints, he does not appear to have made any distinction 
between Jews and Gentiles. It is certain, however, that he 
speaks of helievers when he declares that such as "remain 
unto the coming of the Lord," will be changed. And it is 
clearly revealed, also, that the unconverted Jews will be con- 
verted in connection with, or immediately after, their gath- 
ering. It may not be possible for us now to ascertain the 
precise connection which the gatherings of the two branches 
of the great family of the elect will sustain to each other. 
It is enough, however, that the fact of the gathering of both 
is clearly revealed in the Scriptures of truth. 

And there is not, after all, any greater difficulty in under- 
standing this matter, than there was, previous to the birth of 
Christ, in settling a number of points with respect to the place 
and circumstances of his nativity. After the fulfillment of 
the predictions all was plain. So it will undoubtedly be in 
respect to all the comparatively, or really obscure prophecies 
relating to the subject before us. 

That all will be gathered into one glorious kingdom of 
purity and peace under the Lord Jesus Christ, is sufficiently 
revealed in the divine word. And this is to comprise all the 
elect, even those who have died and gone to their Redeemer's 
immediate presence, whose bodies also sleep in Jesus, being 
included within that redemption which is in the Lord Jesus 
Christ; for it was man — a being of two natures united — 
that God created ; it was the same complex being that 
sinned, making use of both natures ; and it was in both na- 
tures that he suffered, in both natures that he died : That is, 
there was a separation between the two natures, the union of 
which constituted the life of man, as God created him to exist, 
not in the simple oneness of a single nature, but in the unity 
of a complex nature. Death is, in no proper sense, annihila- 
tion of either soul or body ; but an interruption of man's — 
complex man's — existence, in the mode of the existence 
which was designed in his original creation : Death deprives 
the spirit of the originally intended association and mutual 
happiness of the other part of man — the body ; and it ae- 



330 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

prives the body of its life-giving, and glory-giving connection 
with the spirit. In fine, death interrupts the original and 
perfect mode of mail's existence : he is, in fact, no longer man, 
in the original sense of the term, after he experiences death: 
The disembodied spirit is never represented in the Scripture 
as being in its highest and happiest mode and state of exis- 
tence : the period between death and the resurrection — 
though a period of measurable happiness to the holy, and 
unhappiness to the wicked — is never represented as the period 
of consummation to either. Hades — the place and state of 
the dead — is not to be the everlasting condition of the dead. 
The wicked are to have a resurrection, and then — after be- 
coming men — complex beings, as they were originally — they 
are to be cast into the lake of fire. See Rev. xx. 13-15. 
This will be the consummation of their punishment ; and the 
devil and his angels await the same punishment ; (Rev. xx. 
10,) this being undoubtedly what they had in view in their 
awful inquiry, " What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou 
Son of God % Art thou come hither to torment us before the 
time ? " Matt. viii. 29. So, on the other hand, the apostles 
and prophets always looked forward — not to their disem- 
bodied state — but to the resurrection state — as the time of 
their completed happiness and glory. Thus Paul — on the 
verge of the spirit world, with a crown of glory in view — - 
did not expect to receive it until the judgment advent of the 
Lord Jesus. See 2 Tim. iv. 8. And so the souls of the mar- 
tyrs are represented as being under [at the foot of] the divine 
altar, waiting for the time to come for their final glory ; and 
the connections of the passage show that they expected it at 
the second coming of the Lord. See Rev. vi. 9-17. 

And this final reward of the saints is elsewhere specifically 
connected with the judgment of the nations, and the resur- 
rection of the dead. See Rev. xi. 15: "And the seventh 
angel sounded ; and there were great voices in heaven, say- 
ing, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of 
our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall reign forever and 
ever. 16. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before 
God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 331 

17. Saying, we give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, 
which art, and wast, and art to come ; because thou hast 
taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18. And the 
nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of 

the DEAD, THAT THEY SHOULD BE JUDGED, and that thou shouldst 

give REWARD UNTO thy servants the prophets, and to the 

SAINTS, AND THEM THAT FEAR THY NAME, SMALL AND GREAT ; AND 
SHOULDST DESTROY THEM THAT DESTOYED THE EARTH." * 

To this very period the prophet Daniel was instructed to 
look for the consummation of his glory. Dan. xii. 13 : " But 
go thou thy way till the end he ; for thou shalt rest, and stand 
in thy lot at the end of days." And this was the hope of 
Job ; chap. xix. 25 : " For I know that my Redeemer liveth, 
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : 
26. And though, after my skin worms destroy this body, yet 
in my flesh shall I see God : 27. Whom I shall see for my- 
self, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another ; though my 
reins be consumed within me." Like Daniel, he should rest 
until the time revealed — " the latter day " — and then he should 
come forth — retaining his identity — to see and enjoy his 
Redeemer, who should "stand at the latter day upon the 
earth." Such views of the Scriptures give significancy to 
the passage, " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord 
from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, [or, from henceforth 
saith the Spirit, Yea] that they may rest from thetr labors ; 
[the present condition] and their works do follow them," — 
for God to reward at the great day when Paul expected his 
crown, viz: at Christ's " appearing /" (2 Tim. iv. 8,) "the 

TLME OF THE DEAD, THAT THEY SHOULD BE JUDGED, and that tllOU 
Shouldst GIVE REWARD UNTO THY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS, AND 

to the saints [martyrs] and to them that fear thy name, 
small and great." It is to be the time of giving reward unto 
all the elect, as this passage and others distinctly teach. 

This sufficiently proves that the first resurrection described 
in Rev. xx. 4, 6, is not to be restricted to the martyrs, but to 
include all " which had not worshiped the beast, neither his 

* The whole scope and connections of the passage show that all this belongs 
to the beginning — and not to the ending — of the Millennium. 



832 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, 
or in their hands." It is evident, however, that among these 
" souls " which were waiting to be raised at the beginning of 
the thousand years, those that were " beheaded for the witness 
of Jesus" were conspicuous ; and perhaps John, without ex- 
cluding others, (as described in chap. xi. 18,) did indeed refer 
particularly to the martyrs. At all events, we must not make 
one part of his prophecy contradict another. 

Now, it may be asked, What has ' all this to do with the 
subject in hand — the gathering of the elect? Much, every 
way : these, in part, are the very elect which are to be gath- 
ered : Daniel and Job, the holy patriarchs and prophets, the 
apostles and martyrs, " and all that feared the Lord, both 
small and great," — these are to be gathered when the Lord 
Jesus makes his appearing. We desire to know who they are, 
with respect to their character / and where they are, with re- 
spect to their condition. 

We have now arrived at this truly interesting and impor- 
tant Scripture doctrine ; — that the elect are comprised in two 
great divisions — the natural descendants of Abraham through 
Israel,* and the spiritual descendants of Abraham through 
Christ. And we also learn that the elect are at present, and 
will be at the second advent, in two different conditions — 
living in the flesh, and dead in the Lord, or sleeping in 
Jesus. We must also understand that the living elect will be 
found in two different conditions — actual believers, and unbe- 
lievers, under an unchangeable covenant. The covenant, how- 
ever, as has been abundantly shown, does not relate to Israel 
in respect to the individual persons ; but it relates to Israel 
in respect to the generation, or race / so that there shall never 
be a casting away of that people which God foreknew, and 
elected. The inquiry is now naturally suggested — Does God 
purpose to gather together all his elect f And, if so, when and 
how are they to be gathered ? 

* Not all of the natural posterity, but the " remnant according to the elec- 
tion of grace." Rom. xi. 5. The generation of Jacob should never cease to be 
an elect generation, as God has abundantly shown in his word ; and as has been 
proved in the previous quotations. Individuals might be cast away, but the 
race never. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 333 

To this inquiry, the following passage is applicable : Eph. i. 
9 : " Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, ac- 
cording to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in him- 
self* 10. That in the dispensation of the fullness of times, 
he might gather together in one, all things est christ, both 

WHICH ARE LN HEAVEN, AND WHICH ARE LN EARTH, IN HTM. 11. 

In whom also we [Jews, notwithstanding our unbelief and 
wickedness,] have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated 
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after 
the counsel of his own will : 12. That we should be to the praise 
of his glory, who first [the Jews first believed on Christ] trust- 
ed in Christ. 13. In whom ye [Gentiles] also trusted, after 
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation : 
in whom, also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that 
Holy Spirit of promise, 14. Which [the Holy Spirit of prom- 
ise] is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of 

THE PURCHASED POSSESSION." 

The fulfillment and application of the promise of the inher- 
itance, is, in the nature of the case, and as the text itself 
teaches, something to be done hereafter, until which time of 
redeeming the inheritance, the Holy Spirit of promise is our 
earnest. That time is called " the dispensation of the full- 
ness of times." It does not belong to the present dispensa- 
tion ; for during this dispensation we have only the earnest 
of the heavenly inheritance to be enjoyed without interrup- 
tion hereafter. The plain truth is just this — Rom. viii. 17 : 
" If children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with 
Christ ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also 
be glorified together. 18. For I reckon that the sufferings of 
this present time [present dispensation] are not worthy to be 
compared with the glory which shall be revealed ln us. 19. 
For the earnest expectation of the creature [creation] waiteth 
fo the manifestation of the sons of God. 20. For the crea- 
ture [creation] was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but 

* The thing is a mystery revealed ; but, however mysterious, or even in- 
credible to men, yet it is willed of God's own good 'pleasure. He has not been 
moved to it by any external influence, but he hath purposed it in himself ; it 
is a mighty display of sovereign grace. 



334: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope ; 21. 
Because the creature [creation] itself also shall he delivered 
from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the 
children of God. 22. For we know that the whole creation 
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.* 23. And 
not only they,f but ourselves, also, which have the first fruits 
of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, wait- 
ing for the adoption, $ to wit, the redemption of otjr body." 
This was what they were waiting for : the adoption or re- 
demption of the body ; — the other part of the being that 
Christ has redeemed. Well, this time for which they wait- 
ed ; this time of receiving the hoped-for and promised in- 
heritance; this time of the manifestation of the sons of God 
in glory ; this is declared to be the time when the " body" 
should be " adopted," that is, redeemed by the resurrection 
from death ; it is the time when the creation itself shall be 
delivered " into the glorious liberty of the sons of God ;" 
(which must be accomplished by the renovation, or restitution 
of the creation from the effects of sin ;) and this period is 

Called " THE FULLNESS OF TIMES," OT " the DISPENSATION OF THE 

FULLNESS OF TLMES." Eph. i. 10. 

It is at this time — this time so abundantly and so variously 
defined and marked, that God intends to " gather together 
in one, all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and 
which are on earth, in him." All things in both worlds that 
are in Christ. And it will be done, as we learn from the dec- 
larations of Paul, as well as from many others which are not 
referred to, at that period when the redemption of the body 
will be effected, and when the creation itself shall be renova- 
ted, or restored to its original condition. E"ow we ascertain 
from the Scriptures, that all this is to be accomplished at the 
second coming of Christ. The Scriptures that teach this are 
so numerous and so very plain, that it seems to be needless to 
detain the argument by a particular reference to them : some 

* So dreadfully has sin affected the physical creation with which men in 
this world come in contact. 

f The preceding verse defines this. 

% Not spiritual adoption ; that had been already obtained. See verse 16t 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 335 

of them, however, have already been quoted for other purpos- 
es. The general gathering together unto Christ was a famil- 
iar idea to the apostolic church. St. Paul was specifically 
understood when he besought the Thessalonians in this man- 
ner : " Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him? 

It still remains to show how the elect, in their diversified 
conditions, will be finally gathered into one. 

1. How will those be gathered who have died in the Lord, 
and whose spirits have been with Christ ever since their ab- 
sence from the body % These are a part of the things in Christy 
in heaven, that are waiting the adoption of their bodies. St. 
Paul will testify to the precise point in question : 1 Thess. iv. 
13 : " But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- 
cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as 
others which have no hope. 14. For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God being- with him." This is the way, then, that saints 
who have died will be gathered : they will come from heaven 
with Christ when he comes in his everlasting kingdom. 

This same doctrine of the coming of the saints with the 
Lord, is taught elsewhere, in the Scriptures, and very plainly. 
1 Thess. iii. 13 : "To the end that he may establish your hearts 
unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." This 
corresponds with the prediction previously quoted from Zech. 
xiv. 5 : " And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints 
with thee." This doctrine of the coming of the saints was re- 
vealed so long ago as the time of Enoch : Jude 14 : " And 
Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, 
[wicked men of whom he was speaking,] saying, Behold, the 
Lord comeih with ten thousand of his saints." It is worthy 
of observation, that this prediction of the coming of the Lord 
with his saints, like those from Paul, clearly identify the com- 
ing with (1.) The judgment and destruction of the wicked ; 
(2.) With the bringing of the saints, and the appearance be- 
fore the presence of the Lord in glory ; (3.) With the reno- 
vation of the earth, as taught by Peter. An examination of 



336 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the epistle of Jude will show this : Yerse 15, speaks specifi- 
cally of his coming to judgment ; verses 17, 18, identify the 
time of which Peter was speaking, (2 Pet. iii. 3,) when he 
spake of the coming of the day of the Lord, as a thief in the 
night, and renovating the heavens and the earth ; verse 24, 
evidently has in view the same glory in the presence of the 
Lord that both Peter and Paul referred to : " Now unto him 
that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you fault- 
less before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" &c. 
It was undoubtedly this that Paul had in view in 1 Thess. ii. 
19 : " For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ?* 
Are not even ye [their converts] in the presence of our Lord 
Jesus Christy at his coming." He expected then to meet the 
souls saved by his instrumentality, and to rejoice with them in 
the presence of Christ. 

Although this gathering together, this coming, and this 
meeting of the saints at that time would naturally imply the 
resurrection of their bodies, in order that those who then are 
gathered might be the persons who were redeemed, — i. e., com- 
plex beings, as they were originally formed, — yet we are not 
left merely to infer this fact ; we find it plainly revealed that 
their bodies will be raised at the same time ; and, in some 
way, unexplained to men, yet known to God, the two natures 
will be joined again in immortal union ; thus consummating 
the redemption of the saints by the " adoption" of their bodies. 
This is taught by St. Paul in 1 Cor. xv. 23 : " But every man 
[will be raised] in his own order ; Christ the first fruits ; af- 
terward, they that are Christ's, at his coming." Yerse 51 : 
" Behold, I show you a mystery : we shall not all sleep, but 
we shall all be changed, 52. In a moment, in the twinkling 
of an eye, at the last trump / for the trumpet shall sound, and 
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 
Phil. iii. 20 : " For our conversation is in heaven/ from whence 
also we looJc for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ ; 21. 
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned ' 
Wee unto his glorious body, according to the working 

* As the successful ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 337 

whereby lie is able even to subdue all things unto himself." 
1 Thess. iv. 16 : " For the Lord himself shall descend from 
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and 
with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise 
firsts 

It is thus that our Lord will gather this portion of his elect, 
precisely as he predicted in the text under notice : " And 
then shall he send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet,* 
and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, 
from one end of heaven to the other, "f 

It cannot have failed to strike the attentive reader, how 
naturally, and how abundantly the other portions of the Bible 
elucidate, identify, and sustain the text under comment, when 
it is interpreted literally. And it has been sufficiently shown 
what havoc of history and Scripture is made by the attempts 
to expound it figuratively. 

Having thus explained the text, in reference to those who 
shall have died in the Lord, it will be very easy to explain it, 
with reference to those who will be found alive at his coming. 
They will be miraculously and instantly changed so as to be 
immortal. Their corruptible body will put on incorruption ; 
their mortal shall put on immortality. This change will prob- 
ably be such as the Lord exhibited in his transfiguration on 
the mount. He then appeared, for a time, in his glory, and 
exhibited himself as he will be seen when he comes to judge 
the world. Such a change was undoubtedly experienced by 
Enoch and Elijah when they were translated to heaven. 

The saints will be found living in every part of the world, 
when the Lord shall come with all his holy angels, and the 
spirits of those who have died in the Lord ; and they will, by 
the omnipotence of Christ, be so transformed as to be like the 
saints who will be raised from the dead. And all of them, 
whether changed from the living, or raised from the dead, 

* Marg. " With a trumpet, and a great voice." 

\ Their dust will be sleeping in every part of the earth ; and whether the 
returning spirit goes to meet the risen body, or the dust is gathered and quick- 
ened into life where the spirits are gathered, the agency of the angels will be 
according to the established method. 

22 



338 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

will have bodies like unto the Lord's glorious body ; for they 
are to dwell in his kingdom, and see his face forever more. 
Hence St. John says, (1 John iii. 2,) " Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but 
we know that when he shall appear, we shall he like him ; 
for we shall see him as he is." St. Paul says, (Col. iii. 4,) 
" When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also 
appear with him in glory P And he also speaks of this trans- 
formation in 1 Cor. xv. 49 : " And as we have borne the im- 
age of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heaven- 
ly. 50. Now this I say, brethren, \h.2X flesh and blood cannot 
inherit the kingdom of God /* neither doth corruption inherit 
incorruption. 51. Behold, I show you a mystery : we shall 
not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52. In a moment, 
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump," &c.f 

It will be at this time, and by means of this change, that 
the elect who shall be living at the coming of the Lord, shall 
be gathered with those who come with him from heaven. St. 
Paul was inspired and led to inform us of the order in which 
these two great divisions of the elect will be finally gathered 
unto one another, and unto the Lord. 

This is done distinctly enough in 1 Thess. iv. 14. " For if 
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also 
which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. [When he 
comes.] 15. For this we say unto you, by the word of the 
Lord, [the Lord had revealed it,] that we which are alive, 
and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent 
[go before] them which are asleep. 16. For the Lord himself 
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trumph of God ; and the dead in 
Christ shall rise first : 17. Then we which are alive and re- 
main, SHALT, BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM TN THE CLOUDS, 



* From the connections of the passage it is evident that he is here speaking 
— not figuratively — but literally: a literal change of the body to prepare it 
for admission into a literal kingdom : therefore the necessity of the resurrec- 
tion of the dead, and the transformation of the living. 

f See Note K, in the Appendix- 



harmony and exposition. 339 

to meet the lord in the air i and so shall we be ever with 
the Lord."* 

Thus two portions of the elect will be gathered. It is wor- 
thy of solemn consideration, that this two-fold gathering at 
the coming of Christ, was represented in the scene of transfig- 
uration on the mount: Matt. xvii. 1: "And after six days, 
Jesus taketh Peter, and James, and John his brother, and 
bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, 2. And was 
transfigured before them ; and his face did shine as the sun, 
and his raiment was white as the light. [Mark — And his rai- 
ment became shining, exceeding white as snow ; so as no ful- 
ler on earth can white them.] 3. And behold there appear- 
ed unto them Moses and Elias, [who appeared in glory, Luke,] 
talking with him." ■ 

Here we find represented the essential events of the second 
advent: (1.) Christ with his glorified body ; (2.) Moses, "in 
glory," as the representative of those who have died; (3.) 
Elijah, "in glory," the representative of those who are 
changed without experiencing death. 

St. Peter seems to have understood this as being in some 
way a representation of the Lord's coming in glory. 2 Pet. 
i. 10 : " For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, 
when we made known to you the power and coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty." 
He seems to have had the coming of Christ in power and glory 
brought to his mind as a confirmation of his exhortation and 
encouragement to his brethren. In thus speaking to them, 
he assured them that they had " not followed cunningly de- 
vised fables," when they made known to them the coming of 
Christ, because they had had occular demonstration of the 
fact. The subject of which he was then treating was this : 
Verse 10 : " Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence 
to make your calling and election sure ; for if ye do these 
things ye shall never fall : 11. For so an entrance shall be 
administered unto you abundantly into the everlasting king- 
dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." 

* See Note L, in the Appendix. 



340 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. The subject 

APPLIED TO THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS. 

The point to be established — Prophecies of Jeremiah, identifying the People, 
their Restoration, Rebuilding of Jerusalem, Christ under the name of David, 
the New Covenant, &c. — Further Quotations referring to the People, the 
Time, the Event, the Extent, <fcc. — Confirmation by Hosea — Prophecies of 
Isaiah, relating to the Branch, the Ensign, the Gathering, the Union, the 
Conversion, the Great Battle, the Signs in the Heavens, the Destruction of 
the Wicked, the Judgment of Satan, the Resurrection of the Saints, the 
Coming of the Lord, the New Heavens and Earth, &c. — Prophecies of 
Ezekiel, relating particularly to Christ's Reign over Israel, the Renewrl of 
Palestine, the Conversion and Restoration, the happy Results, &c 

Verse 31. And [then] he shall send his angels, with a great sound of a 

TRUMPET, AND THET SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, 

[Mark: from the uttermost fart of the earth,] from one end of heaven to 

THE OTHER. 

In the foregoing chapter it has been shown from the 
Scriptures, how literally, and how exactly this will be ful- 
filled with respect to those portions of the elect whose cases 
are therein described, viz : those who have died in the Lord, 
and such as remain alive at his coming. 

It has also been shown, in the same chapter, that there is 
still another portion of those who are called the elect, that 
seem to be treated in the Scriptures as, in some respects, 
apart by themselves. That is, they have been from the begin- 
ning a peculiar people. They have been the subjects of a 
peculiar destiny / and they have been preserved, and will be 
brought in, under a peculiar covenant. It will be perceived, 
of course, that the reference is to the descendents of Israel 
who shall be found on the earth at that period of time called, 
the fullness of the Gentiles. This period — whatever it may 
specifically mean, — evidently synchronises with the closing 
up of the present, and introducing the millennial dispensation. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 341 

At that time a change distinctly marked will characterize the 
destiny of both Jews and Gentiles. In respect to the Jews, 
two things of great importance to the subject in hand will 
transpire : 1. Their holy city will cease to be trodden down 
of the Gentiles. 2. The blindness which has happened unto 
Israel shall be taken away.* 

At that time the Jews are not only to be converted, but 
restored to the possession of their fatherland. At first, proba- 
bly, the conversion and restoration will be gradual ; but, at a 
certain stage of the renovation, as the Scriptures appear to 
teach, the work will be cut short by unusual divine interpo- 
sition, and hurried to its complete consummation. This dis- 
tinctly predicted interposition will complete the gathering of 
the elect. 

This is the point now presented for examination. The cer- 
tainty of this people being still regarded as under the cove- 
nant of election made with their fathers, having already been 
demonstrated by the many passages quoted in the chapter 
devoted to that purpose, the application of the text under 
comment to this specific subject, seems to be as appropriate as 
its reference to the gathering of the other portions of God's 
family. "We may not be able to trace all the links of rela- 
tionship between the gathering of this portion of the elect 
and the gathering of the others, any more than we can com- 
prehend the relationships that connect many other parts of 
the great renovation of the disordered and wicked world. 
There may be a thousand things above our comprehension. 
But this should not hinder us from crediting what God has 
seen fit to reveal. Comprehension of separate truths, as indi- 
vidual truths, is certainly much easier than the comprehen- 
sion of all truths, in their intricate relations to one another. 
If we may not do the latter, with satisfaction to ourselves, 
it is no reason why we should not do the former, where dis- 
tinct truths are communicated. 

To illustrate — the fact of God's universal sovereignty is 
distinctly revealed, and also the fact of human freedom and 

* Lu. xxi. 24 : Rom. xi. 25. 



342 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

responsibility ; but is it not much easier to comprehend each 
of these truths by itself, than to comprehend them in their 
relations ? So the fact of the resurrection of the dead, and 
also the fact of continued identity, are both revealed ; but 
the relation of these truths to one another has confounded the 
mightiest minds, when they have considered some of the 
circumstances which result from the dissolution of the body, — 
as when it is eaten, and becomes a part of another human 
body, which also dies in that condition. And so of other cir- 
cumstances which might be suggested. Yet we never, on 
this account, reject the two revealed truths of continued iden- 
tity and bodily resurrection. Thus, in relation to the matter 
in hand ; if God has revealed the fact of the final gathering 
of the Jewish portion of the elect, in connection with the 
gathering of the others, we are not at liberty to disbelieve it, 
even if we may not be able to comprehend it in its relations. 
Relations of truths we are not required to comprehend ; it is 
the truths themselves that we are under obligation to believe. 
Has God revealed the fact, that the natural descendents of 
Israel, as such, who remain until the period of consummation, 
shall be gathered — not only unto himself spiritually — but 
unto the land of their fathers literally % This is the question ; 
and to this point shall be brought the " law and the testi- 
mony." 

1. In relation to the fact of their final gathering : Jer. xxx. 
3 : " For lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring 
again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the 
Lord ; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave 
to their fathers, and they shall possess it." The subsequent 
verses show that it has not yet been fulfilled : Verse 8 : " For 
it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that 
I will break his yoke from off thy neck, [Israel and Judah, 
verse 4,] and I will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no 
more serve themselves of him : 9. But they shall serve the 
Lord their God, and David their ktng, whom I will raise up 
unto them. 10. Therefore, fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, 
saith the Lord ; neither be dismayed, O Israel ; for lo, I will 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 343 

save thee from afar, and thy seed * from the land of their 
captivity ; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest, and be quiet, 
and none shall make him afraid" This has not yet been 
fulfilled. Yerse 11 : " For I am with thee, saith the Lord, 
to save thee / though I make a full end of all nations whither 
I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee ; 
but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee 
altogether unpunished." Alluding to their iniquities and 
punishments by which they have been wounded, God con- 
tinues, verse 17 : " For I will restore health unto thee, and I 
will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord, because they 
called thee an Outcast,f saying, This is Zion, whom no man 
seeketh after. 18. Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I will bring 
again the captivity of JacoVs tents, % and have mercy cm his 
dwelling places ; [both the people, scattered, and the land, 
desolate ; ] and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, 
and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof." Yerse 
22 : " And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." 
xxxi. 1 : "At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God 
of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people" 
Yerse 6. " For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon 
the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to 
Zion unto the Lord our God ! 7. For thus saith the Lord, 
Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of 
the nations ; publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy 
people, the remnant of Israel ! 8. [God's answer,] Behold, 
I will bring them from the north country, and gather them 
from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the 
lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child 
together ; a great company shall return thither. 9. They 
shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead 

* As the Jews are beloved for the father's sakes, and their election was on 
the ground of a covenant made personally with Israel, their father, it seema 
to be kept in view by such addresses as this — where, meaning the posteri- 
ty — the address is as to Jacob himself. 

\ As if God had cast them away. 

\ It will be noticed that this somewhat ambiguous form of expression 
means their restoration from captivity. 



344 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

them ; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a 
straight way, wherein they shall not stumble ; for I am a Fa- 
ther to Israel, and Ephraim is my first horn. 10. Hear the 
word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles 
afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, 
and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. 11. For the Lord 
hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him 
that was stronger than he." 

See the whole chapter, and how the following is connected : 
Yerse 31. " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the 
house of Judah : 32. Not according to the covenant that I 
made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the 
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt ; * which my 
covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, 
saith the Lord. 33. But this shall be the covenant that I will 
make with the house of Israel ; After those days, saith the 
Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it 
in their hearts ; and will be their God, and they shall be my 
people. 34. And they shall teach no more every man his 
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, 
for they shall all know me, from the least of thevn unto the 
greatest of them, saith the Lord ; for I will forgive their ini- 
quity, and I will remember their sin no more. 35. For thus 
saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and 
the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by 
night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar : 
The Lord of hosts is his name : 36. If those ordinances 
depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel 
also shall cease from being a nation before me forever, f 37. 
Thus saith the Lord ; If heaven above can be measured, and 

* That covenant did not require him to forgive the guilty ; and therefore he 
slew them in the wilderness. And that covenant did not require him to 
renew their hearts. It was not the original covenant. 

f The whole connections show that this reference to the most unchangeable 
things in nature, was designed to confirm the covenant of the Lord ; but lest 
there might be some advantage taken of the fact that the heavens are said to 
pass away, and there be new heavens, the Lord uses another illustrative con- 
firmation. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 345 

the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also 
cast off all the seed of Israel for all they have done, saith the 
Lord. 39. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the 
city shall be built to the Lord, from the tower of Hananeel 
unto the gate of the corner. 40. And the measuring line 
shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and 
shall compass about to Goath. 41. And the whole valley of 
the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the 
brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse-gate toward the 
east, shall be holy unto the Lord ; it shall not be plucked up, 
nor thrown down any more forever." 

In this long quotation, several things are undeniably evi- 
dent : (1.) That it refers to the literal house of Israel and 
Judah ; (2.) That it declares the purpose of God to restore 
and convert them ; (3.) That Jerusalem shall be built again, 
to be thrown down no more forever. (4.) That it has not yet 
been fulfilled, and is just as certain to be fulfilled as it is 
certain that Jehovah's word is true. 

And it should be observed, also, (1.) That it is connected 
with their serving the Lord their God, and David their Icing, 
who is to be raised up unto them. (xxx. 9.) This of course 
* refers to Christ, in his regal or kingly office, as the successor of 
David, according to the covenant with David, that his 
throne should endure forever.* (2.) It should be observed 
again, that this is predicted of those that should be " left 
of the sword," found " in the north country," in " the coasts 
of the earth," " in the isles afar off," " among the chief 
nations;" that it is " the remnant of Israel," those that had 
been "wounded" with " chastisement," for a " multitude of 
iniquities ; " of whom God would " not make a full end," but 
would " correct in measure," and not leave " altogether un- 
punished." It should be noticed, (3.) again, that their final 
restoration was to be accompanied with thorough, spiritual, 
universal conversion, leaving not one of them, little or great, 
that should not know the Lord. (xxxi. 33-34.) And, (4.) 

* See Ps. lxxxix. 18-37. What follows in the remainder of the Psalm, is 
even now occurring; but the quotation above shows that David is to be 
raised up. 



346 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

this was to be done under a new covenant, differing from that 
by which they were brought out of Egypt, judged, and de- 
stroyed by myriads ; it is a covenant to "forgive their iniqui- 
ty," and " remember their sin no more." It is a covenant 
that would secure their repentance : (xxxi. 9.) " They shall 
come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them." 
And thus would God grant them a new heart, and a new 
spirit. (5.) It should be done because, as a generation, they 
were " beloved for the father's sates ; " (Rom xi. 28,) and 
because God "loved" them "with an everlasting love." 
(xxxi. 3.) (6.) Finally, all this originated in the often de- 
clared fact, that they were God's people ; (xxx. 3, 22, and 
xxxi. 1, 7, 14, 20, 23, 33 ; ) they were God's chosen or elect 
people, as Paul said, (Rom. xi. 28,) " As touching the elec- 
tion, they are Moved for the father's sokes." For this reason 
they were to be gathered unto the Lord, and unto one another ', 
Judah and Israel both. xxx. 3, 4, 7,* 10, 11, 18 and xxxi. 1, 
8, 10, 11, 16, 23, 27.) 

Now if all this does not identify the people, the gathering, 
the conversion, the final and permanent upbuilding, then, of 
certainty, it is not in the power of language to do it ; and if 
God wished to communicate information respecting their final 
destiny, he could not do it in human language, if it has not 
been done here. 

The same general promises may be found in the thirty-sec- 
ond chapter, from the 36th verse.f And the same subject is 
resumed in the thirty-third chapter, in a connection that fully 
proves it to be yet unfulfilled. Terse 14 : " Behold, the days 
come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing 
which I have promised unto the house of Israel, and to the 
house of Judah. 15. In those days, and at that time, will I 
cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David ; 
and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 

* Jacob comprises both. 

fit is no objection that this was suggested by the captivity in Babylon ; 
(verse 36,) for it was done expressly to show what great things God was de- 
termined finally to do for them. Just as the troubles of this world frequent- 
ly suggest the promises of the everlasting heaven. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 347 

16. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall 
dwell safely : and this is the name whereby he shall be called, 
Jehovah-tsidkenu, (i. e.,) The Lord our Righteousness. 17. 
For thus saith the Lord, David shall never want a man to sit 
upon the throne of the house of Israel. [Marg. There shall 
not be cut off from David a man to sit upon the throne, &c] 
18. Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before 
me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and 
to do sacrifices continually. 20. Thus saith the Lord ; If ye 
can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the 
night,* and that there should not be day and night in their sea- 
son ; 21. Then may also my covenant be broken with David 
my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his 
throne ; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22. 
As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand 
of the sea measured ; so will I multiply the seed of David my 
servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. 23. More- 
over the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24. 
Consider thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The 
two families which the Lord hath chosen, [elected] he hath 
even cast them off% Thus they [Gentiles] have despised my 
people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 
25. Thus saith the Lord ; If my covenant be not with day 
and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of 
heaven and earth ; 26. Then will I cast away the seed of 
Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take of his 
seed rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob : for 
I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on 
them." 

It should be observed, respecting this quotation, (1.) That 
this cannot possibly be applied to any people but the natural 
descendents of Jacob. (Yerses 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 24, 25, 
26.) It should be noticed, (2.) That their return to their 
own land should be " in those days, and at that time " that 
God will " cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up 
unto David," to " execute judgment and justice in the land ;" 
when (verse 16,) " in those days" Judah and Jerusalem should 

* Gen. viii. 22. 



348 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

dwell safely ; and she should be called, The Lord our Right- 
eousness. (3.) This must, then, refer to the same time that 
is spoken of in Isa. iv. 2. "In that day shall the Branch of 
the Lord be beautiful and glorious ; [Marg. beauty and glo- 
ry /] and the fruit of the earth excellent and comely, for 
them that are escaped of Israel. 3. And it shall come to pass, 
that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusa- 
lem^ shall be called holy, even every one that is written among 
the living in Jerusalem" And this is also connected with 
Jer. xxiii. 1 : " Wo be unto the pastors that destroy and scat- 
ter the sheep of my pasture /* saith the Lord. 2. Therefore 
thussaith the lord Ood of Israel against the pastors that feed 
my people ;f Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them 
away, and have not visited them : behold, I will visit upon 
you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord. 3. And I will 
gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I 
have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds : 
and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4. And I will set up 
shepherds over them, which shall feed them : and they shall 
fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, 
saith the Lord. 5. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that 
I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall 
reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in 
the earth. 6. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel 
shall dwell safely : and this is his name whereby he shall be 
called, Jehovah-tsbokenu, The Lord our Righteousness. 7. 
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they 
shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the 
children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ; 8. But, The Lord 
liveth, which brought up, and which led the house of Israel 
out of the north country, and from all countries whither I 

HAD DRTVEN THEM; AND THEY SHALL DWELL LN THEIE OWN 
LAND." 

This final and universal gathering, it will be observed, is 
to be in the days when the righteous Branch is raised up 
unto David, and a King shall reign and prosper, executing 

* See chap. xxxi. 10. 

f The priests and rabbies that assume the pastoral relations among the Jews. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 349 

righteousness and judgment in the earth. And the name of 
this King is Jehovah-tsidkenu.* And these passages are 
unmistakably identified with such as this : Hos. iii. 4 : " For 
the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, 
and without a prince, and without a sacrifice^ and without 
an image, and without an ephod, and without a teraphim4 
Afterward [after those many days] shall the children of Israel 
return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king : 
and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days." 
The eleventh chapter of Isaiah identifies this bringing forth 
of the Branch unto David with the final restoration of Israel. 
Yerse 1 : " And there shall come forth a Rod out of the stem 
of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." Then 
follows a description of the universal peace which shall result 
from his judgment of the poor, and destruction of the wicked, 
(verses 3, 4.) Then, (verse 9,) " the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." This is 
after he begins his reign, and after the destruction of the wick- 
ed, (verses 3-6.) Then, (verse 10,) referring evidently to the 
same period, " And in that day, (verse 1,) there shall be a 
Hoot of Jesse,§ which shall stand for an ensign\ of the people: 
[the Jews, as the rest of the verse shows ;] to it [the ensign] 
shall the Gentiles seek ; and his [the ensign's] rest shall be 
glorious. 11. And it shall come to pass, in that day, that the 
Lord shall set his hand again the second time, to recover the 
remnant of his people, [his by election,] which shall be left, 
from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from 
Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, 
and from the islands of the sea. Yerse 12. And he shall set 
up an ensign for the nations, [verse 10,] and shall assemble 
the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of 

* See Note M, in the Appendix. 

\ There is no possibility of applying this to Christians, or to any people but 
the literal Jews. 

% That is — as the titles sufficiently indicate — they shall have neither their 
own temple service, nor idolatry. How true of their present condition ! 

§ "A Branch shall grow out of his roots." (Verse 1.) 

| An ensign for them to rally about. 4i Unto him [Shiloh] the gathering of 
the people shall be." 



350 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Judah from the four comers of the earth* 13. The envy 
also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah 
shall he cut off" &c.f 

Chap. xii. 1 : " And in that day thou [Israel] shalt say, O 
Lord, I will praise thee : though thou wast angry with me, 
thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2. 
Behold, God is my salvation : I will trust and not be afraid : 
for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song ; he also 
is become my salvation." They shall then know the Lord 
their God, and their Redeemer the Holy One of Israel. The 
vail is no longer blinding their hearts. This is, of course, all 
yet to be fulfilled. 

In Isa., chapters xxiv, xxv., xxvi., and xxvii., we have the 
same gathering together of the elect, unmistakably identified 
in various ways with the portions previously quoted. And it 
is remarkable that all the principal facts respecting the fear 
and destruction of the assembled nations, are referred to : we 
have, for example, 

(1.) The gathering of the nations against Israel at the time 
the sun and moon are darkened, when the Lord begins to de- 
liver his people. Chap, xxiv 21 : " And it shall come to pass 
in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high 

ONES THAT ARE ON HIGH, and the ETNGS OF THE EARTH THAT ARE 

upon the earth. 22. And they shall be gath&red together, as 
prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the 
prison, and after many days shall they be visited.:): 23. Then 
the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the 
Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, 
and before his ancients gloriously. \Marg. or, there shall be 
glory before his ancients '.] 

(2.) We have also the fear and perplexity of nations, and 
the physical convulsions which are to occur in connection 

* Read the text from the prophecy of Christ now under notice. The Lord 
understood all about this gathering of his elect from the four winds. 

f This synchronises with all the other places quoted in other parts of the 
Treatise, in reference to the distress and destruction among the nations. 

\ Let these remarkable expressions be remembered, to show the identity 
of this with portions hereafter referred to. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 351 

with the Lord's coming to redeem his people, and to destroy 
the wicked, when he shall come as a thief in the night ; when 
the day of the Lord shall come as a snare on all them that dwell 
on the face of the whole earth. Yerse 17. " Fear and the 
pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. 
18. And it shall come to pass that he who fleeth from the 
noise of the fear, shall fall into the pit ; and he that cometh 
up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare ; for 
the windows from on high are open,* and the foundations of 
the earth do shake. 19. The earth is utterly broken down, 
the earth is clean dissolved,f the earth is moved exceedingly. 
20. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard ; and shall 
be removed like a cottage, and the transgressions thereof shall 
be heavy upon it ; and it shall fall, and not rise again." Then 
follows the passage first quoted in this connection : verse 21 
seems to refer to the binding of Satan and his angels : those 
" wicked spirits in high places," as Paul calls them, Eph. vi. 
124 Yerse 22 refers to the gathering of all nations against 
Jerusalem, in the great battle of Gog and Magog, as it is de- 
scribed elsewhere. Yerse 23, refers to the darkening of the 
heavenly luminaries, as it is described by the Saviour, and in 
Joel iii. Then follows in chapter xxv., the grateful reflections 
of the redeemed Israelites, in view of God's overthrow of their 
enemies, his faithful fulfillment of his ancient covenant, the 
deliverance of Israel, and the happiness that shall result, xxv. 
1 : " O Lord, thou art my God : I will exalt thee ; I will 
praise thy name ; for thou hast done wonderful things : thy 
counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. [He has fulfilled 
his old covenant.] 4. For thou hast been a strength to the 
poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the 
storm, a shadow from the heat when the blast of the terrible 

* They see wonderful and terrible things for them going on in the heavens, 
— even the sign of the Son of man. They see what is coming on the earth. 

f 2 Pet., chap. iii. 

\ For we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, against 
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against \Marg.~\ 
wicked spirits in high places. 



252 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION". 

ones is as a storm against the wall.* 6. And in this moun- 
tain f shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of 
fat things, a feast of wines on the lees : of fat things full of 
marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7. And he will 
destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over 
all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. 8. He 
will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe 
away tears from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people 
shall he taken away from off all the earth : foe the Lord 
hath spoken it.;): 9. And it shall be said, in that day, Lo, 
this is our God ; we have waited for him, and he will save 
us : this is Jehovah ; we have waited for htm ; we will be 
glad and rejoice in his salvation ! 10. For in this mountain 
shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Modb shall be trodden 
down [threshed] under him,§ even as straw is tro'dden down 
for the dunghill." 

In chapter xxvi. we have the song of Israel's gratitude : 
Yerses 8 and 9 are affecting references to the ardent and per- 
petual longings and expectations which have characterized 
the Jews ever since their dispersion. Terse 13 alludes to their 
oppression under Gentile rulers. Verse 14 refers to their de- 
struction when God visited and destroyed them : " and in verse 
21 we find the manner of it stated: "For behold the Lord 
cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth, 
for their iniquity ; || the earth also shall disclose her blood, 
[Marg. bloods,] and she shall no more cover her slain." It 
will be a time af general judgment of the earth for all the vi- 
olence done upon it. The martyrs, such as Isaiah, and the 

*Ezek. xxxviii. 9. God says to Gog and Magog in reference to their coming 
against his people : " Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm" <fec. 

f "They were in their own land then. 

% It will be found on examination of those places where " the Lord hath 
spoken" this, that it is to be accomplished literally for Israel, at the time of 
his final gathering together. 

§ See Isa. xi. 13, 14, and the remaining verses of the chapter quoted above. 

| This is not the description of a limited, but of a universal destruction, 
when the Lord cometh out of his place to destroy Israel's oppressors. And 
it has been shown that they are to be gathered together as prisoners into the 
pit 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 353 

righteous dead are to be raised : the earth " shall no more cov- 
er her slain." 

And all this is connected with Israel's gathering / verse 15 
sufficiently identifies this. Yerses 16 and 17 show how they 
are brought to the deepest anguish, repentance, and supplica- 
tion at the time of their delivery, just as it is described in 
Zach. xii. Yerse IS shows that, after all, their deliverance 
was not by their own might or wisdom, but by direct divine 
interposition, as it is elsewhere explained, by the " Lord com-, 
ing out of his place," and when he " visited and destroyed " the 
wicked. This is what we might expect to find, for in several 
parallel places, as in the chapter forming the subject of this 
Exposition, it refers it to the coming of the Lord to punish 
the nations of the earth, and gather together his elect. But 
the coming of the Lord is elsewhere identified with the resur- 
rection of the dead who " sleep in Jesus." And this must re- 
fer to all who died in the faith of Jesus, whether they lived 
after his first advent, and believed in him who had come ; or 
whether they lived previous to the advent, and saw his day, 
and were glad. 

So in the chapter now under notice, the resurrection of the 
righteous dead is not only inferrable from the expressions in 
the 21st verse, where the " earth shall disclose her bloods, 
and shall no more cover her slain : " Yerse 19 states the thing 
expressly : " Thy dead men shall live, together with my 

DEAD BODY SHALL THEY ARISE. A WAKE* AND SENG, YE THAT 
DWELL LN THE DUST : FOR THY DEwf IS AS THE DEW OF HERBS, AND 
THE EARTH SHALL CAST OUT THE DEAD." The Concluding Ver- 

ses of the next chapter also serve to identify these things with 
the final gathering of Israel as it is described in the prophecy 
of Christ, by St. Paul, and by Isaiah in the eleventh chapter, 
verses 15, 16, which see. Yerse 12 : " And it shall come to pass 
in that day,% that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of 

* The dead in Christ " sleep in Jesus." 

f They will awake from the dust as the fresh, blooming plant covered with 
"dew." 

% It is remarkable how definitely the times are marked and connected. 

23 



354 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the river unto the stream of Egypt,* and ye shall be gathered 
one by one, O ye children of Israel. 13. And it shall come 
to pass in that day, that the GREAT TRUMPET shall be 
blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in 
the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, 
and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jeru- 
salem" 

Now, comparing Scripture with Scripture, cannot fail to 
show that this gathering of all the nations together against the 
Jews yf this coming forth of the Lord out of his place to judge 
all nations, and to make the earth disclose her bloods, and un- 
cover her slain / this general gathering together from the ut- 
termost parts of the earth of the remnant of God's Jewish 
elect, according to his original and oft-repeated covenant ; 
this general gathering together of this portion of the elect, 
(Isa. xxvii. 13,) " in that day that" the great trumpet shall 
be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish," 
when " the outcasts in the land of Egypt " shall be gathered 
in " one by one ; " this time when the " dead men shall live," 
and " together with " Isaiah's " dead body " they shall arise ; 
" and the earth shall cast out her dead ; " this time when 
" the Lord shall set his hand again, the second time, to recover 
the remnant of his people which shall be left ; " when " he 
shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the 
outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Ju- 
dah, from the four corners of the earth : " — it will be found 
that all these events synchronise, and are just as literal as 
words can well express them ; that they are, in fact, so inter- 

* The channel of the river evidently refers to the river Nile, which is to be 
Bmitten "in the seven streams," and men carried over it "dry shod." Isa. xi. 
15. The approach of the Israelites from that part of the world will be across 
the river Nile, then along the coast to the "stream of Egypt," which is a little 
river on the south-west corner of Palestine. The Israelites are to approach 
Palestine from that part of the world, as Isaiah says, (xi. 14,) by the way of 
the Philistines toward the west. The map of Palestine will explain this in a 
moment. 

f Against those who are assembled at Jerusalem before the general gather- 
ing of the Jews. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 355 

woven with what is undeniably literal, that nothing but un- 
justifiable violence can wrest them from their appropriate 
literal application and make them figurative. 

In Isa. lxv., we have also promises to the Jewish elect which 
must yet be fulfilled by their being gathered unto the Lord 
in their own land. Yerse 8 : " Tims saith the Lord, As the 
new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it 
not, for a blessing is in it ; so will I do for my servants' sake, 
that I may not destroy them all. 9. And I will bring forth 
a seed .out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my 
mountains ; and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants 
shall dwell there. 10. And Sharon shall be a fold for flocks, 
and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, 
for my people that have sought me." Then follows (verse 11,) 
a rebuke for their wickedness ; (12,) the destructive judg- 
ments that their sins had provoked ; (13-15,) the results of 
obedience and disobedience ; (17,) the new heavens and earth : 
" For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth ; and the 
former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind. 18. But 
be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create ; for be- 
hold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 
19. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people ; 
and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor 
the voice of crying. 20. There shall be no more thence 
an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his 
days : for the child shall die an hundred years old ; but the 
sinner an hundred years old shall be accursed. 21. And they 
shall build houses and inhabit them ; and they shall plant 
vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22. They shall not 
build, and another inhabit ; they shall not plant, and another 
eat ; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and 
mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23. They 
shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble ; for they 
are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring 
with them. 24. And it shall come to pass, that before they 
call, I will answer ; and while they are yet speaking, I will 
hear. 25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the 
lion shall eat straw like the bullock ; and dust shall be the 



356 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my 
holy mountain, saith the Lord." 

By comparing this with the eleventh of Isaiah, it will be 
identified as belonging to the same period, — the time of Is- 
rael's restoration. 

In the last chapter of Isaiah, the creation of the new heav- 
ens and new earth is represented very plainly as belonging to 
the period of Israel's sudden restoration and conversion to the 
Lord ; and it is also described in inseparable connection with 
the coming of the Lord to judgment at the time that "all 
nations " shall be gathered together against Israel, so that " all 
the tribes of the earth" may see the glory of the Lord's judg- 
ment-coming, when he appears in flaming fire to deliver his 
people, and destroy their foes. The battle of Gog and Ma- 
gog, as it is described in Ezekiel, and in Joel, will be termi- 
nated in that manner. 

The astonishing suddenness of Israel's conversion is stri- 
kingly illustrated in verses 7, 8 ; and God claims to do the 
work himself, verse 9 ; verses 10, 11, 12, and 13, show how it 
is to be applied to the religious and national capital of the 
Jews, for which they had mourned, verse 10. Yerse 14 tells 
how they would be affected when they should see it accom- 
plished : " And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and 
your bones shall flourish like an herb ; and the hand of the 
Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation 
toward his enemies." Then follows the way in which it shall 
be done, clearly identifying it with the second advent in glory, 
in the sight of all men, at the time that all nations are gath- 
ered before him, when Jerusalem shall be finally delivered, 
and the Jews restored forever. And the fire that consumes 
the wicked will renovate the earth and heavens. Yerse 15 : 
" For behold, the Lord well come with fire, and with his 

CHARIOTS LIKE A WHIRLWIND, TO RENDER HIS ANGER WITH FURY, 
AND HIS REBUKE WITH FLAMES OF FIRE. 16. FoT by fire, dTldby 

his sword, will the Lord plead with all flesh ; and the slain 
of the Lord shall be many. IT. They that sanctify them- 
selves, and purify themselves in the gardens, behind one in 
the midst, [Marg. one after another,] eating swine's flesh, and 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 357 

the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, 
saith the Lord. 18. For I know their works and their thoughts ; 
it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues ; 

AND THEY SHALL COME AND SEE MY GLORY. 19. And I will Set 

a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them 
unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud that draw the bow, 
to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard 
my fame, neither have seen my glory ; and they shall declare 
my glory among the Gentiles. 20. And they shall bring all 
your brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all nations, 
upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, 
and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith 
the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean 
vessel into the house of the Lord. 21. And I will take of 
them for priests and Levites, saith the Lord. 22. For as the 
new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall re- 
main before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your 
name remain. 23. And it shall come to pass, that from one 
new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another,* shall 
all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. 24. And 
they shall go forth, and lookf upon the carcasses of the men 
that have transgressed against me : for their worm shall not 
die, neither shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be an 
abhorring unto all flesh."^: 

That Israel is still regarded by the Lord as his chosen peo- 
ple, and that, for this reason, he will at last gather them to- 
gether, appears most evidently from Ezek. xxxiv. 1-9, which 
contains God's complaint against those who have caused his 
people to err. Yerse 10, contains a notification of what God 
intends to do for his " flock " that had been " scattered upon 
all the face of the earth." 

Yerse 11 : " For thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I, even 
I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. 12. As a 

*The new heavens and the new earth are the old heavens and the old earth 
renewed ; restored to their original condition before man had sinned. 

f Not forever, certainly, but at first; immediately after the great battle^ 
when (verse 16,) "the slain of the Lord shall be many." 

% See Note N, in the Appendix. 



358 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among 
his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek out my sheep, and 
will deliver them out of all places where they have been scat- 
tered in the cloudy and dark day. 13. And I will bring them 
out from the people, and will gather them from the countries, 
and will hiding them to their own land, and feed* them wpon 
the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited 
places of the country. 14. I will feed them in a good pasture, 
and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be / 
there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall 
they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15. I will feed my 
flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. 
16. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that 
which was driven away, and will bind up that which was bro- 
ken, and will strengthen that which was sick : but I will de 
stroy the fat and the strong : I will feed them with judgment. ' r 
Terse 22 : " Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall 
no more be a prey : and I will judge between cattle and cat- 
tle, f 23. And I will set up> one Shepherd over them, and he 
shall feed them, even my servant David,:): he shall feed them, 
and he shall be their shepherd. 24. And I the Lord will be 
their God, and my servant David, a pkestce among them : I 
the Lord have spoken it. 25. And I will make with them a 
covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out 
of the land : and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and 
sleep in the woods.g 26. And I will make them and the pla- 
ces round about my hill a blessing ; and will cause the shower 
to come down in his season ; there shall be showers of bless- 
ings. 27. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and 
the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in 
their land, and shall know that I am the Lord,] when I have 

* They are represented under the similitude of a flock ; hence the meaning 
of feeding them. 

\ " As a shepherd divide th his sheep from the goats." 

\ This can be no other than Christ. 

§ "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain." 

\ In that day they will say, "This is our God; we have waited for him, 
and he will save us : that is the Lord : [Jehovah] we have waited for him ; 
We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." Isa. xxv. 9. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 359 

broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the 
hand of those that served themselves of them. 28. And they 
shall no more oe a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beasts 
of the land devour them ; but they shall dwell safely, and 
none shall make them afraid. 29. And I will raise up for 
them a plant of renown,* and they shall be no more consum- 
ed with hunger, neither bear the shame of the heathen any- 
more. 30. Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God 
am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my peo- 
ple^ saith the Lord God. 31. And ye my flock, the flock of 
my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord 
God." 

On this passage, the following conclusions must be consid- 
ered undeniable : 1. That it relates to literal Israel. 2. That 
it foretells a gathering that they have never yet realized. 3. 
That they will then dwell in their own country. 4. That 
Christ will then be their Prince and Shepherd. 5. That they 
will all be truly converted. 6. That their residence in Pales- 
tine will be free from sorrow, danger, disappointment, or in- 
terruption. 

The thirty-sixth chapter of Ezekiel will never cease to be 
regarded as teaching, as plainly as language can teach it, the 
final restoration and conversion of the whole house of Israel 
that shall remain until " the set time to favor Zion " shall come. 
And it all proceeds on the professed ground of God's regard 
for his own name, in view of his unchangeable covenant with 
their fathers. 

The chapter opens with an address to the mountains of Is- 
rael, and continues to the 15th verse. No possibility of fair 
interpretation can ever mistake the intention of God to define 
" the mountains of Israel " literally ; and no proof whatever 
can be drawn from history to show that the promised restora- 
tion of the Israelitish inhabitants has yet been effected. In 
the connections of the passage, it must be as impossible to 

* See Isa. xi. 1. 

f " For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called 
thee by thy name." Isa. xlv. 4. " Yet hear thou, O Jacob, my servant ; and 
Israel, whom I have chosen." Isa. xliv. 1. 



360 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

misunderstand its literality, as to misunderstand the Scriptures 
that describe the exodus from Egypt, or the entrance into 
Canaan. Such language as this cannot reasonably be misin- 
terpreted : Terse 8 : " But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall 
shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people 
of Israel ; for they are at hand to come. 9. For behold, I am 
for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and 
sown : 10. And I will multiply men upon you, all the house 
of Israel, even all of it ; and the cities shall be inhabited, 
and the wastes shall be builded. 11. And I will multiply 
upon you man and beast ; and they shall increase and bring 
fruit : and 1 will settle you after your old estates, and will do 
letter unto you than at your beginnings : and ye shall know 
that I am the Lord. 12. Yea, I will cause men to walk upon 
you, even my people Israel ; and they shall possess thee, and 
thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shall no more hence- 
forth bereave them of men"* 

Yerse 16. " Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, 
saying, 17. Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in 
their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their 
doings : their way was before me as the uncleanness of a re- 
moved woman. 18. Wherefore, I poured my fury upon them 
for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their 
idols wherewith they had polluted it. And I scattered them 
among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the 
countries : according to their way and according to their do- 
ings I judged them. 20. And when they entered unto the 
heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, 
when they said to them, These are the people of Jehovah,f 
and are gone forth out of his land ! 21. But I had pity for 
my holy name,% which the house of Israel had profaned among 
the heathen whither they went. 22. Therefore, say unto the 
house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God : I do not this for 

* How strikingly the last seventeen hundred years of Jewish history, and 
Canaan's desolation, are alluded to in this chapter. 

f The heathen knew the God of the Jewish nation by this name. 

% See chap. xx. 9, 14. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 361 

your sakes, house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake* 
which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. 
23. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned 
among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of 
them ; and the heathen shall know that I am Jehovah,! saith 
the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their 
eyes4 24. For § I will take you from among the heathen, and 
gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your 
own landP 

But, says an objector, we read that they will continue in 
blindness until the fullness of the Gentiles is come. How can 
wicked, spiritually blind, hard hearted Jews dwell in the re- 
newed inheritance ? Let God explain this matter. 

Yerse 25 : " Then || will 1 sprinkle clean water upon you, 
and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness, and from all 
your idols, will I cleanse you. 26. A new heart also will I 
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will 
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give 
you a heart of flesh. 27. And I will put my spirit within 
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep 
my judgments, and do them. 28. And ye shall dwell in 
the land that I oave to your fathers ; and ye shall be my 
people, and I will be your God. 29. I will also save you 
from all your uncleannesses ; and I will call for the corn, and 
will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. 30. And I will 
multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, 
that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the 
heathen. 31. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, 
and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe your- 
selves in your own sight for your iniquities, and for your 
abominations. 32. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the 
Lord God, be it known unto you : be ashamed and confound- 

* As men would say, out of respect for their own reputation for veracity. 

\ It is altogether more expressive to retain the original name, Jehovah, of 
the Lord God of Israel. 

\ Chap. xx. 41, and xxiii. 22. 

§This is the way his veracity will be displayed. 

\ For then there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away 
ungodliness from Jacob. 



362 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ed * for your own ways, O house of Israel. 33. Thus saith the 
Lord God ; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all 
your iniquities, I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, 
and the wastes shall be builded. 34. And the desolate land 
shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that 
passed by.f 35. And they shall say, This land that was des- 
olate is become like the garden of Eden ! and the waste and des- 
olate and ruined cities \ are become fenced, and are inhabited. 
36. Then the heathen that are left round about you § shall 
know that I Jehovah build the ruined places, and plant that 
that was desolate : I Jehovah have spoken it, and I will do 
it. 37. Thus saith the Lord God : I will yet be inquired of 
by the house of Israel, to do it for them : I will increase them 
with men like a nock. 38. As the holy flock, as the flock of 
Jerusalem in her solemn feasts ; so shall the waste cities be 
filled with flocks of men ; and they shall know that I am 
Jehovah." 

* See Zech. xii. 

f How distinctly the prophecy describes the history of Palestine for the last 
thousand years and more ! 

\ The ruins of cities overspread almost every portion of Palestine. 
§ See Note N, in the Appendix. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 363 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Principal subject — Gathering the Elect. 

Applied to the Restoration, of the Jews — Reasons for continuing the Subject— 
Ezekiel's Vision of the Dry Bones — Design, and Substance of the Vision- 
God's own Interpretation — Figurative Language not used to interpret 
Figurative — Final Union, Gathering, and Blessedness of Israel — A King- 
dom under the reign of Messiah — The Battle of Gog and Magog — Referred 
to in other parts of the Bible — Interpretation — Prophecy of Zechariah — 
The Great Battle — The Lord Revealed — The Victory — Prophecy of 
Amos — The Tabernacle of David raised up — Happy Condition of the 
Poople — Prophecy of Moses — The History and Prophecy blended — True 
conversion, and real Restoi'ation — St. Paul's Reasoning — Synopsis of the 
Argument — Twenty-nine Particulars in the Argument — The Conclusion — 
Angelic Agency in Gathering the Elect — Examples — How the present 
Dispensation will be terminated. 

Verse 31. And [then] shall he send his angels with a great sound of a 

TRUMPET, AND THEY SHALL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, FROM 
ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER. 

The only apology — if any be needed — for extending this 
subject, in its application to the Jews, is (1.) The very great 
importance of a thorough understanding of the divine will in 
respect to this matter; and (2.) Because the subject has not 
generally been investigated by either the common reader of 
the Bible, or by the ministers of the gospel. 

The writer has conversed with a great many both of the 
membership and the ministry, who seemed, in too many 
instances, neither to know nor to care what the Scriptures 
teach in respect to the matter in question. And, even with 
many who are somewhat impressed with the importance of 
the subject, there have been manifested so much indefinite- 
ness and indecision, and so little personal acquaintance with 
the Scripture doctrine, that the writer. has been for several 
years painfully impressed, that the divine will in respect to 
the final destiny of the Jewish race has not received that 
prayerful attention by the churches, that has been directed to 



36-i HARMONY AND EXPOSITION* 

other subjects of no greater, and probably of less, importance. 
Yet it requires but a moment's meditation to perceive that 
the final restoration of the Lord's ancient people, both to him- 
self and their fatherland, must be regarded as the great event 
of the closing dispensation. 

The vision of the resurrection of the dry bones is directly 
connected with the prophecy of Ezekiel, which was under 
discussion at the close of the preceding chapter. The reader 
is requested to keep open before him the thirty-seventh chap- 
ter of Ezekiel, that he may clearly perceive its connections 
with the preceding and subsequent portions of the prophecy. 
The design of the vision was evidently to illustrate and con- 
firm what God had just declared concerning the conversion 
and final gathering of the children of Israel and Judah. 
From verse 1 to 10, inclusive, we have the vision, which the 
reader will perceive has a direct connection with the preceding 
chapter. Yerses 11-14 contain GooVs own application and 
interpretation of the vision. Let this be distinctly consid- 
ered ; together with the fact, that the Lord does not give one 
vision or parable to explain another. There are many instan- 
ces of the Lord's explaining his own figurative language, and 
the visions of his prophets. But the writer has not in recol- 
lection an instance where one parable, metaphor, or vision 
was given to interpret another. In all cases where the inter- 
pretation and application of figurative language and visions 
have been examined, not figurative, but simple, literal lan- 
guage has been employed. 

The use of figurative language to explain figurative, would 
be a manifest impropriety ; for, in that case, the interpreta- 
tion itself would need to be interpreted. In other words, it 
would be no interpretation at all. 

Now, God's own interpretation of the vision of dry bones 
is this : Yerse 11 : " Then said he unto me, Son of man, 
these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, 
Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost ; we are cut off for 
our parts.* 12. Therefore prophecy and say unto them, 

*Does not this mean, We are cut off from our parts? i. e. ve are cut off 
from enjoying our parts of the everlasting possession promised to our fathers: 
Out hope is lost. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 365 

Thus saith the Lord God : O my people, I will open your 
graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and 
bring you into the land of Israel.* 13. And ye shall know 
that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, O my 
people, and brought you up out of your graves. 14. And 
shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place 
you in your own land : then shall ye know that I the Lord 
have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." Then fol- 
lows (verses 15-19) a representation of the final gathering and 
complete union of all the children of Israel, under the simili- 
tude of uniting two sticks [rods or sceptres] into one. Yerses 
16, 19, sufficiently prove the universality of its application to 
the literal posterity of Israel. "With verse 20 begins the 
statement of God's own explanation and purpose in the mat- 
ter : Yerse 20 : " And the sticks whereon thou writest (verse 
16) shall be in thine hand before thine eyes. 21. And say 
unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I will take the 
children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they he 
gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them 
into their own land. 22. And I will make them one nation in 

THE LAND UPON THE MOUNTALNS OF ISRAEL ; and ONE KING SHALL 

be etng to them all : and they shall he no more two nations, 
neither shall they he divided into two kingdoms any more at 
all. 23. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with 
their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of 
their transgressions : but I will save them out of all their 
dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse 
them : so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 
24. And David my servant shall be king over them ; and 
they all shall have one shepherd : they shall also walk in my 
judgments, and observe my statutes ; and do them. 25. And 
they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacoh my 
servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell 
therein, even they, and their children, and their children's 
children forever : and my servant David shall he their prince 
FOREVER.f 26. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace 

*See Isa. xxvi. 19; Hos. xiii. 14. 

f It does seem inexcusable for any intelligent person to pretend that this 
passage, in its connections, is of doubtful application. How could the Lord 



&$$ HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

with them j it shall be an everlasting covenant with them* 
and I will place th<?m, and multiply them, and will set my 
sanctuary in the midst of them forever more. 27. My taber- 
nacle also shall be with them ; * yea, I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. 28. And the heathen shall know 
that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall 
be in the midst of them for evermore." 

In chapters xxxviii. and xxxix. we have the prophecy of the 
great battle of Gog and Magog with the restored Israelites, 
just as we find it stated in Zech. and Joel, and as we find it 
predicted in Eev. twice ; once as a literal occurrence, at the 
closing up of the present dispensation, and once as a symboli- 
cal illustration to represent the conflict and destruction at the 
closing up of the millenium. There can be no difficulty in 
discovering the identity of the event described in Ezek. xxxix. 
17-22, and in Rev. xix. 11-21. And it will be seen that the 
restoration of Israel, the destruction of their enemies, the 
marriage of the Lamb, (Eev. xix. 7-9,) are all to transpire in 
connection with the judgment coming of the Lord, and at 
the closing up of the ante-millenial dispensation. 

Now, it is freely admitted that in these various represen- 
tations of the events of the same period, there are some things 
which are less easily understood than some other things 
which are related in the same connection. This arises princi- 
pally from the fact, that God did not move any one of the 
prophets to predict all the circumstances of the Lord's second 
advent. And there is undeniably a degree of difficulty in all 
our attempts to analyze and arrange chronologically all the 
events which are related by the different prophets, as forming 
distinctive portions of that wonderful display of events which 
will introduce the millenial dispensation. But, previously to 
the first coming of our Lord, there was the same difficulty in 
the analysis and application of the many particulars which 
were predicted in connection with the foretelling of his advent. 
And the same thing is true with respect to many other 

describe such an event, supposing that he desired to do so, if he has not done 
it in this chapter, and its associated passages f 
* See Note 0, in the Appendix. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 367 

prophecies, which, after their fulfillment, were sufficiently 
plain to be understood by all. 

Itjs obviously our duty, in reference to such prophecies, to 
interpret what is less plain by what is more plain ; and never 
to permit what we do know to be set aside by what we do not 
know. Who, for instance, can fail to understand such a pre- 
diction as this, which closes up the prophecy of Gog and Ma- 
gog ? Ezek. xxxix. 22 : " So the house of Israel shall know 
that I am Jehovah their God from that day and forward. 
23. And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went 
into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed 
against « me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave 
them into the hand of their enemies ; so fell they all by the 
sword. 24. According to their uncleanness, and according to 
their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face 
from them. 25. Therefore thus saith the Lord God ; Now 
will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy 
upon the whole house of Israel, and will he jealous for my 
holy name.* 26. After that they have borne their shame, 
and all their trespasses wherewith they have trespassed against 
me, when they dwelt safely in their own land, and none made 
them afraid. 27. When I have brought them again from 
the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' land, and 
am sanctified in them f in the sight of many nations. 28. 
Then they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, which 
caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen ; but 
I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none 
of them any more there. [Among the heathen.] 29. Neither 
will I hide my face any more from them ; for I have poured 
out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." 

And who can misunderstand such a prediction as this, which 
the connections show is yet to be fulfilled ? Zech. vii. 12 : 

* By referring to the many places where the expression is used, it "will be 
seen that God regards himself as being distinctly -pledged to do this for Israel ; 
and that he will yet justify himself in this matter before the whole world. 

•j- In their dispersion and wickedness, God regarded himself as suffering 
reproach, as one that had promised without fulfilling ; and in their final res- 
toration and happiness, he will be sanctified in them ; his character as a cove- 
nant keeping God will be cleared from all imputations. 



368 HAUMONY AtfD EXPOSITION. 

(Referring to the wickedness of Israel,) "Yea, they made 
their heart as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the 
law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his 
Spirit by the former prophets :* therefore came a great wrath 
from the Lord of hosts. 13. Therefore it is come to pass,- that 
as he cried, and they would not hear ; so they cried, and I 
would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts : 14. But I scattered 
them with a whirlwind among all nations whom they knew 
not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man 
passed through nor returned ; for they laid the pleasant land 
desolate. Chapter viii. 1 : Again the word of the Lord of 
hosts came unto me, saying, 2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; 
I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous 
for her with great fury. 3. Thus saith the Lord : I am re- 
turned unto Zion,f and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem ; 
and Jerusalem shall be called, A city of truth ; and the moun- 
tain of the Lord of hosts, The holy mountain. 4. Thus saith 
the Lord of hosts ; There shall yet old men and old women 
dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his 
staff in his hand for every age, [for multitude of days.fl 5. 
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls 
playing in the streets thereof. 6. Thus saith the Lord of 
hosts : If it he marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this peo- 
ple in these days, should it also be marvelous in mine eyes, 
saith the Lord of hosts ? 7. Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; 
Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from 
the west country ; 8. And I will bring them, and they shall 
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem ; and they shall be my peo- 
ple, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." 
Verse 11 : (After describing in verses 9 and 10 their days of 
affliction,) " But now I will not be unto the residue § of this 

* " The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy," Rev. xix 10. See 
also, John v. 39. It wa6 these portions of the prophecies against which the 
Jews opposed themselves ; and for which wrath came upon them so terribly. 

f Speaking — as was not unusual — of things future as if they were present. 
\ \ Isa. lxv. 20, and the connections. 

§ It is remarkable how frequently these latter day blessings are described 
as being given to the residue, the remnant, those that be left, those that remair^ 
of Israel. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 369 

people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. 12. 
For the seed shall be prosperous ; the vine shall give her fruit, 
and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall 
give their dew ; and I will cause the remnant of this people 
to possess all these things." Let the reader examine the re- 
maining portions of the chapter. 

Read also chapters ix. and x. In the great battle which is 
so frequently referred to elsewhere, as occurring in connection 
with their final gathering to the Lord and their fatherland, 
the Israelites shall be aided by the visible presence of the 
Lord. Ch. ix. 14 : " And the Lord shall be seen over them, 
and his arrows shall go forth as the lightning, and the Lord 
God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with the whirl- 
winds of the south." Verse 16. " And the Lord God shall 
save them in that day, as the flock of his people." Chap. x. 
5 : " And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their 
enem;es in the mire of the streets in battle ; and they shall 
fight because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses 
shall be confounded. 6. And I will strengthen the house of 
Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and will bring 
them again to place them ; for I have mercy upon them : and 
they shall be as though I had not cast them off; for I am the 
Lord their God, and will hear them. 8. I will hiss for them, 
and gather them ; for I have redeemed them ; and they shall 
increase as they have increased. 9. And I will sow* them 
among the people ; and they shall remember me in far coun- 
tries ; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. 
10. I will bring them also out of the land of Egypt, and gather 
them out of Asyria ; and I will bring them again into the 
land of Gilead, and Lebanon ; and place shall not be found 
for them. 11. And he shall pass through the sea with afnic- 
tions,f and [the Lord] shall smite the waves in the sea, and 
all the deeps of the river shall dry up ; and the pride of As- 
syria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall 

* How fearfully, and yet beautifully, this expresses their present dispersion. 

I This is an imperfect translation : the Septuagint and the Yulgate give the 
true sense ; " And he [Israel] shall pass through the straits of the sea." The 
passage is parallel with Isa. xi. 15, which see. 

24 



370 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

depart away. 12. And I will strengthen them in the Lord ; 
and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord." 
Chapters xii., xiii., and xiv. clearly relate to this final gather- 
ing and establishing of God's Israelitish elect ; and also fully 
identify the time of its accomplishment with the end of the 
present dispensation, the coming of the Lord, (chap. xiv. 1, 3, 
4, 5,) and the everlasting happiness of those who are saved. 

In Amos ix. 8, we find the same predictions : " Behold, the 
eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom ; and I 
will destroy it from off the face of the earth ; saving that I 
will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord. 
9. For lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel 
among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall 
not the least grain fall upon the earth. 10. All the sinners 
of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil 
shall not overtake us nor prevent us. 11. In that day will I 
raise up the tabernacle of David which is fallen down, and 
close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, 
and I will build it as in the days of old ; 12. That they may 
possess the remnant of Edom,* and of all the heathen which 
are called by my name, [upon whom my name is called,] 
saith the Lord that doeth this. 13. Behold, the days come, 
saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, 
and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed ; [draweth 
forth ;] and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the 
hills shall melt.f 14. And I will bring again the captivity of 
my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and 
inhabit them ; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the 
wine thereof; they also make gardens, and eat the fruit of 
them. 15. And I will plant them upon their land, and they 
shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have giv- 
en them, saith the Lord thy God."J 

* See Isa. xi. 14. 

f See Joel iii. 18, and other parallel places. The renovated earth and heav- 
ens shall then exhibit the perennial bloom and increasing fruitfulness of Eden. 
Bee Isa. li. 3, Ezek. xxxvi. 35, and other places. 

% What language can be more unequivocal in its identifying of both the peo- 
ple and their destiny ? 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 371 

It cannot be necessary to repeat, or to refer to all the pas- 
sages which most evidently belong to the same people, and 
refer to the same destiny. The explicit testimony of Moses 
and of Paul, however, is too important to be omitted. If 
there was nothing more said in the Bible than was written by 
the chief prophet of the former dispensation, and the chief 
apostle of the present, it would be sufficient to establish the 
doctrine of the final gathering of God's ancient elect, in con- 
nection with the final gathering of those of more recent se- 
lection. 

Deut. xxviii. contains a wonderfully particular prediction 
of the dispersion and sufferings of the descendants of Israel. 
There can be no possibility of misunderstanding either its ap- 
plication or its sentiment. It has been for many ages an im- 
movable bulwark against the attacks of infidelity. But the 
thirtieth chapter is equally definite in its teaching, and as ob- 
vious in its application. It can refer to no other people ; and 
cannot, without inexcusable violence, be understood otherwise 
than literally. Yerse 1 : " And it shall come to pass, when 
all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the 
curse, which I have set before thee ; and thou shalt call them 
to mind among all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath 
driven thee. 2. And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and 
shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this 
day ; thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all 
thy soul ; 3. That then the Lord thy God will turn thy cap- 
tivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and 
gather thee from all the nations whither the Lord thy God 
hath scattered thee. 4. If* any of thine be driven to the 
outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God 
gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee. 5. And the 

* " But there is an if in the matter." There is indeed. But do you not 
observe that the if has reference to the dispersion, not to the gathering. In 
verse 10, however, there is an if in connection ^ith the subject of their final 
obedience ; and in verse 17, there is an if in connection -with the reference to 
their apostacy. If the if in verse 10 renders that part uncertain, why should 
not the if in verse 17 render that also doubtful ? The truth is, the if is used 
more to intensify a previous statement, than for any other reason ; just as in 
John xiv. 3 : " If I go to prepare a place for you, I -will come again," <fcc. 



372 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers 
possessed, and thou shalt possess it : and he will do thee good, 
and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6. And the Lord thy God 
will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love 
the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, 
that thou mayest live. 8. And thou shalt return and obey 
the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I 
command thee this day." 

Here the same Inspiration that predicted the dispersion of 
the chosen people among all the nations of the earth, has just 
as clearly, and just as repeatedly, predicted their final gather- 
ing from one end of heaven to the other. It is difficult to 
perceive how any intelligent mind can be satisfied with any- 
thing less than a full, literal application of the part relating 
to the gathering, since it is undeniable that there has been a 
full and literal fulfillment of the part relating to the dispersion. 
And, if possible, it is still more wonderful how any pious 
mind can be indifferent to the teachings of Inspiration in re- 
spect to this glorious gathering. St. Paul, in Romans xi., has 
placed this matter beyond a rational doubt. It will not be 
necessary to quote all that he has said : it will be expedient 
only to give a synopsis of his argument. And it will be per- 
ceived that his reasoning is systematical, logical, and con- 
clusive. 

If the reader will keep the chapter open before him, as he 
peruses this review of Paul's argument, he will do himself a 
favor. 

1. The proposition to he considered. Verse 1 : "I say, then, 
Hath God cast away his people ? * 

2. The position of the apostle. Yerse 2 : " God hath not cast 
away his people which he foreknew."f 

* The people are identified in chap, x., 19-21 ; chap, xi., 1, 2, *7, 25, 28, <fcc. 

f The nature of the case, and the whole structure of the argument, prove, 
that the question was not whether all the individuals of that people were cast 
away: no one ever entertained such an idea. Nor was it whether God had 
cast away those that he "foreknew " would be converted : that was never a 
matter of dispute. The point was this : Hath God cast away Israel as a peo- 
ple, so that, as a people, they shall not be restored ; this was, and is, a matter 
of dispute. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 373 

3. Statement of the case. Yerse 5 : " There is a remnant " 
preserved, as at a former time. 

4. Reason for the preservation of the remnant. Yerse 5 : 
" According to the election." By divine choice and purpose. 

5. Ground of the election. Yerse 5 : " Grace." 

6. Character of the electing grace. Yerse 6 : " And if by 
grace, then it is no more of works : otherwise grace is no more 
grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace : other- 
wise work is no more work." That is, the election does not in 
any degree depend upon any works on the part of the rem- 
nant chosen and preserved. It is purely a matter of divine 
purpose ; just as God, when speaking of the final gathering 
of Israel, often took occasion to remind them of the ground 
on which he would proceed in the matter." * 

7. JPresent result of the election. Yerse 7 : " What then ? 
Israel [in general] hath not obtained that which he seeketh 
for : but the election [remnant elected] hath obtained it ; and 
the rest [Israel in general] were blinded." Just as had been 
predicted. 

8. Subject of debate resumed. Yerse 11 : " Have they [Is- 
rael in general] stumbled that they should fall ? "f 

9. The apostle's position redssumed. Yerse 11 : " God for- 
bid." By no means. They have not fallen so as to be cast 
away. 

10. Why their temporary fall was permitted. Yerse 11: 
" Through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles." 

11. A presumptive proof that they shall be restored. It 
would be a great blessing to the world. Yerse 12 : " Now 
if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the dimin- 
ishing of them the riches of the Gentiles : how much more 

* "Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: 
be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, house of Israel." Ezk. 
xxxvi. 32. "I do not this for your sakes, house of Israel; but for my holy 
name's sake." Ezk. xxxvi. 22. See also many other instances quoted in a 
previous chapter. 

f The whole course of the argument shows that it was a final, irrecoverable 
fall that the apostle was considering ; not the temporary fall, for that was not 
called in question : that was distinctly asserted. 



374: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

their fullness ! " Yerse 15 : " For if the [temporary*] cast- 
ing away of them\ be the reconciling of the world, what shall 
the receiving of them be but life from the dead ? " It will 
be like a resurrection of a dead world. 

12. Another presumptive proof founded on their relation to 
their holy ancestors.^ Yerse 16. " For if the first fruit be 
holy, the lump is also holy ; and if the root be holy, so are the 
branches." 

13. An illustration of the nature of the casting away of Is- 
rael. It was not Israel, as Israel, but many of the individu- 
als of Israel. Yerse IT : " Some of the branches be broken 
off." The tree was not destroyed. The " root" and some of 
the " natural branches" were still preserved. 

14. Their rejection not final but conditional. Yerse 23: 
"And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be 
grafTed in" again. 

15. Their restoration not impossible. Yerse 23. "God is 
able to grafT them in again." 

16. It is more likely that they shall be restored than it was 
that the Gentiles should be converted. Yerse 24 : " For if thou 
wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and 
wert graffed, contrary to nature, into a good olive tree ; how 
much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be 
graffed into their own olive tree !" 

IT. The blindness of Israel, by reason of which they now 
miss of salvation, is limited both in extent and duration. 
Yerse 25 : " Blindness, in part, is happened unto Israel, until 
the fullness of the Gentiles be come in." 

* It must, of course, be understood as temporary ; otherwise the apostle 
would be made to contradict himself. See verses 1, 11. 

\ He must be here speaking of Israel, as a people : for in no other sense 
could the different parts of the argument be in harmony. 

\ Wesley's note, verse 16 : "And this will surely come to pass. For if the 
first fruits be holy, so is the lump. The consecration of them was esteemed 
the consecration of all. And so the conversion of a few Jews is an earnest 
of the conversion of all the rest. And if the root be holy — the patriarchs 
from whom they spring, surely God will at length make their descendents 
also holy." In a former part of the Treatise, it has been abundantly shown 
that the fulfillment of the promise of restoration to Israel is placed solely on 
God's covenant with the patriarchs. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 375 

18. The apostle's unequivocal statement, as an inference from 
his own reasoning. Yerse 26 : "And so all Israel shall be sa- 
ved." He does not speak of what some please to term spirit- 
ual Israel : this was neither the subject of his argument, nor 
at any time a matter of disagreement. Nor does he mean 
that some, a present election of a small number of believing 
Israelites, should be saved. This, as no one doubted it, was 
not the subject of either his argument, or his inference. It 
was Israel, as a people : the Israelites who should remain in the 
world at the time of the fullness of the Gentiles ; unto which 
time, and no longer, should the blindness of the unbelieving 
Israelites be continued. Then — not a remnant, merely, of 
those then surviving, as it is now — but a remnant, considered 
in its relation to the whole number that will have existed pre- 
viously : — Then, at the removal of the blindness from the 
blind, shall " all Israel" he saved. 

19. Direct proof. It is predicted. Yerse 26 : " There 
shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away 
ungodliness from Jacob." Not from what some may please 
to term " spiritual Jacob : " spiritual Jacob is not ungodly. 
Not from the present few among Israel who believe on the 
Messiah : that was not a matter of dispute or inference at 
all. But he " shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob ;" the 
father's name being put for all his descendants. 

20. God has solemnly promised to do it. Yerse 27 : " For 
this is my covenant unto them." 

21. They shall be made holy. Yerse 27: "When I shall 
take away their sins."* 

22. Their present enmity to the gospel does not either vitiate 
their election, as a people, or, as a people, remove them beyond 
divine love. Yerse 28 : " As concerning the gospel, they are 
enemies for your sake : but as touching the election, they are 
beloved for the fathers' saxes." 

23. God does not repent of having selected that people, or of 
having given to them so many favors. Yerse 29 : " For the 
gifts and calling of God are without repentance." 

24. They shall yet obtain mercy. Yerse 31 : " Even so have 

* See Ezek. xxxvi. 21-38 ; and parallel places. 



376 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

these also not now believed, that through your mercy they also 
may obtain mercy." Yerse 32 : " For God hath concluded 
them all in unbelief ] that he might have mercy upon all." 

25. This will magnify GooVs wisdom and knowledge. 
Yerse 33 : " O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God !" He not only knows what is best, but he 
is wise to bring it about. 

26. Objection. " "We cannot understand why he should 
do so." Yerse 33 : " How unsearchable are his judgments, 
and his ways past finding out !" 

27. Contrast. We should not have counseled the Lord to 
do so. Our minds would not have agreed with his. Yerse 
34 : " For who hath known the mind of the Lord % or who 
hath been his counsellor ?" 

28. The wisdom of this purpose was purely divine. Yerse 
35 : " Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recom- 
pensed unto him again." 

29. Consequence. This will give to God all the glory. 
Yerse 36 : " For of him, and through him, and to him, are all 
things : to whom be glory forever. Amen." 

Thus, at the time appointed, when " the set time to favor 
Zion" shall come, at "the fullness of the Gentiles," Jerusalem 
shall be no longer " trodden down of the Gentiles," " blind- 
ness in part" shall no longer happen unto Israel; then "There 
shall come forth out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn 
away ungodliness from Jacob." This is God's "covenant 
unto them," " when he shall take away their sins." 

The whole matter is predicted ; the whole matter is cove- 
nanted ; the whole will be fulfilled. The remnant of Israel 
— remnant considered with reference to those who have pre- 
viously existed ; — the remnant of Israel — the Israel that 
shall remain ; — being, as the prophets have so frequently de- 
clared, " the whole house of Israel," and as Paul understood 
it, " all Israel ;" — the remnant of Israel shall then be saved ; 
saved from their sufferings ; saved from their sins ; gathered 
unto their fatherland ; gathered unto, and into, Christ. Then 
will be realized the unspeakably glorious events referred to 
by St. Paul in Eph. i. 9-14, — " Having made known unto us 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 377 

the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which 
he hatli purposed in himself ; that in the dispensation of the 
fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in 
Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth ; 
even in him." 

See the whole passage explained and applied in chapter 14 
of this Treatise. 

. There is just one more topic to be considered in this con- 
nection : Our Lord says, " And he shall send his angels, 
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together 
his elect." 

This is a delightful subject of contemplation ; but the de- 
sign of the Treatise will not render it expedient to linger long 
in its consideration. This employment of the angels will not 
necessarily introduce any new agency into the operations of 
grace and providence ; for St. Paul informs us in Heb. i. 14, 
that the angels are " all ministering spirits, sent forth to min- 
ister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." Examples of 
angelic agency are almost innumerable in the Scriptures ; 
and we have reason to suppose that it has ever been God's estab- 
lished method of effecting many of his purposes. In the parable 
of the wheat and the tares, Matt. xiii. 36-43, our Lord has very 
distinctly set forth the offices of his angels in the consummation 
of the present dispensation, and the introduction of the next. 
The angels will be employed both in the destruction of the 
wicked, and in the preservation of the righteous : Speaking 
of the wheat and tares, with reference to the final result, the 
proprietor of the field is represented as saying, verse 30, 
" Let both grow together until the harvest ; and in the time 
of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together 
first the tares,* and bind them in bundles to burn them ; but 
gather the wheat into my barn." The Lord's interpretation of 
the parable was this : verse 38 : " The field is the world ; the 

*See Zech. xiv. 2, 3, 12, 16 ; Joel iii. 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 ; Ezek. xxxviii. 
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16; Isa. lxvi. 18, 19; Isa. xxiv. 21, 22; Comp. with Isa. 
Ixvi. 15, 16 ; Ezek. xxxviii. 21, 22, 23 ; Ezek. xxxix. 17, 18 19, 20, 21 ; Rev. xix. 
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. 



378 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

good seed [the wheat] are the children of the kingdom ; bnt 
the tares are the children of the wicked one. 39. . . The 
harvest is the end of the world ; and the reapers are the an- 
gels. 40. As therefore the tares are gathered and bnrned in 
the fire ; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41. The 
Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall 
gather out of his kingdom all things that orYend, and 
them that do iniquity ; 42. And shall cast them into a 
furnace of fire : there shall be wailing,* and gnashing 
of teeth. 43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun 

IN THE KINGDOM OF THEIR FATHER." 

The reapers — the angels — will then gather the wheat — 
the righteous — into the garner — the kingdom of God. The 
same thing is taught by our Lord in the concluding part of 
the discourse forming the subject of this Treatise. Matt. xxv. 
31 : " When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne 
of his glory : [upon his glorious throne :] 32. And before him 
shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them one 
from another, f as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the 
goats : J 33. And he shall set the sheep on the right hand, but 
the goats on the left. 34. Then shall the king say unto them 
on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world." 

The chronological identity of the events described in Matt, 
xiii. 39-43 ; xxiv. 29-31, and xxv. 31-46, is too evident to be 
reasonably doubted. And we learn, consequently, that in 
the closing up of the mediatorial dispensation, and the estab- 
lishing of the everlasting kingdom, by all the saints being 
gathered into it, after the wicked are gathered out ; — that 
the angels will be conspicuously employed both in the de- 

* See Matt. xxiv. 30; Rev. i. 1. 

\ Matt. viii. 49 : " So shall it be at the end of the world : the angels shall 
tome forth and sever the wicked from among the just, 50. And shall cast them 
into the furnace of fire." 

\ The process and result of the judgment. 






HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 379 

struction of the wicked, and in the gathering and salvation of 
the righteous. 

The principal difference perhaps between the angelic agen- 
cy then, and the same agency now, will be, the visibility of 
it. It is now generally unperceived, and in many instances 
unsuspected ; yet the reality, and the generality, of angelic 
agency are clearly taught in the Scriptures, both by precept 
and example. And the same thing is true with respect to the 
agency of Christ himself. During the mediatorial dispensa- 
tion he exercises his office as the High Priest, hidden within 
the holy of holies, which is heaven itself: Heb. ix. 24^ 
" Whom the heavens must receive, until the times of restitution 

OF ALL THINGS WHICH GoD HATH SPOKEN BY THE MOUTH OF ALL HIS 

holy prophets, since the world began." Then, " at the fullness 
of times," when he completes the fulfillment of prophecy, by 
" gathering together into one all things in Christ, both which 
are in heaven, and which are on earth," Eph. i. 10 : then 
"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his 
mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that 
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Je- 
sus Christ ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruc- 
tion from the ^presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
power ; When he shall come to be glordjted in his saints, 

AND TO BE ADMTRED IN ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE IN THAT DAY l" 

2 Thess. i. 7-10. 

Thus, as Christ has in the discourse under notice, so the 
Scriptures elsewhere associate with him the angels, in the vis- 
ible revelation of himself to close up the present dispensation, 
and consummate the fulfillment of all that has been predicted 
by all the prophets since the beginning. And the angels will 
be employed both in the gathering and destruction of the 
wicked, and in the gathering and preservation of the righte- 
ous. The Lord enable us to " believe in that day !" 2 Thess. 
i. 10.* "And to wait for his Son from heaven!" May 
"our conversation be in heaven, from whence also we 
look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ!" Phil. iii. 

• Leaving out the parenthesis. 



380 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

20. May " the testimony of Christ " be " confirmed " in 
us ; "so that we come behind in no gift ; waiting for the rev- 
elation of our Lord Jesus Christ," that we may be " blameless 
in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ !" 1 Cor. i. 6-8. May 
we prove to be the "hope," the "joy," the " crown of re- 
joicing" of the apostles, " in the presence of the Lord Jesus 
Christ at his coming!" 1 Thess. ii. 19. May he "establish 
our hearts unblamable in holiness, before God, even our 
Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his 
saints !" 1 Thess. iii. 13. God forbid that we should be 
" ashamed " of him, or of his " words," before an " adulterous 
and sinful generation," lest the " Son of man be ashamed " of 
us, " when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy 
angels !" Mark viii. 38. " And now, little children, abide 
in him ; that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, 
and not be ashamed before him at his coming." 1 John 
ii. 28. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 381 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Principal subjects — Redemption of the Saints. " This Gene- 
ration" — Renovation of the Earth and Heavens. 

Change in the character of the Discourse — Kedemption drawing nigh — 
Nature of the Redemption — When and How it will be effected — The Fig- 
tree — The Kingdom of God — The Parables all relate to One Period — 
Nature of the Period — Hope of the Saints — " This Generation" — Newton's 
Definition — Whitby's Review — New Testament use — Divine principle of 
Government — Dr. Clarke's View — Opinion of Dr. Tower — Of Mr.Mede — 
Wolfius — Dr. Sykes — Ancient Divines — English Definitions — Passing 
away of the Earth and Heavens — Use of the declaration — Ignorance of the 
Time — Appropriate Duty — Nature of the Advent — Pre-Millenial — Proofs — 
Indications — Condition of the Glutton, the Drunkard and the Worldly- 
minded — Unexpectedness of the Event — Consequence. 

[Luke : And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and 

LIFT UP YOUtt HEADS J FOR TOUE REDEMPTION DRAWETH NEAR.] 

Here begins the hortative part of our Saviour's discourse. 
The prophecy is finished. It has set forth, in unbroken chro- 
nological succession, the principal events, relevant to the sub- 
ject in discussion, from the first appearing of the false Christs 
unto the final coming of the true Christ, at the end of the 
present dispensation. There is no breaking of the thread of 
discourse ; nothing to give occasion to the inquiry, which 
part belongs to Jerusalem, and which to the end of the 
world? There is no necessity whatever for the indefinite, 
unauthorized, and ruinous jumbling together of the different 
subjects of the prophecy, as we find it in many of the Com- 
mentaries. 

The mass of readers are confused and dissatisfied with such 
a method of interpretation ; and the dissatisfaction is con- 
stantly increasing. It is speaking safely, and, considering the 
importance of the matter, it is speaking softly, to say, that the 
usual methods of expounding this portion of the Scriptures 
have proved but little less than a total failure. The Harmony 
and Exposition herewith presented shows a natural, unbroken 



382 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

succession of events from the beginning to the end ; for the 
verse supplied from Luke, put into its appropriate place, be- 
tween the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth of Matthew, takes 
up the subject at the downfall of Jerusalem, and carries it 
along down to the fullness of the Gentiles, when Jerusalem 
shall be no longer trodden down by them. And, at the 
proper place, still preserving the true order of succession, the 
second coming of Christ is treated, with respect to its fact and 
character, and its immediately preceding and succeeding 
events. The parenthetic allusion to it in the 27th verse has 
been sufficiently explained in its proper place. 

When it is remarked, that the prophecy is now finished, it 
is not meant that there is nothing afterwards introduced which 
is of a prophetic character, for there are several instances to 
be noticed. It will be observed, however, by the careful 
reader, that they are simply additional and illustrative par- 
ticulars, which are used for the purpose of admonition and 
consolation. And they all, without exception, relate to the 
closing period of the present dispensation. 

In relation to the verse at the head of this chapter, it may 
be remarked, that in all the Commentaries now before the 
writer, there is either nothing at all said, or nothing to the 
purpose. The wretched attempts to make it apply somehow 
to the period of the downfall of Jerusalem, are certainly too 
superficial, and too utterly destitute of any historical evidence, 
to deserve a formal reply. Let any one endeavor to fix upon 
some historic evidence of Christians being redeemed, as the 
figurative theory supposes, upon the downfall of the Jewish 
nation ; — let him satisfy himself as to what Christ meant by 
" these things beginning to come to pass," and thus indica- 
ting their redemption drawing nigh; — let him produce a 
single Scripture or historic proof that " the kingdom of God 
was nigh at hand," implying that the gospel kingdom had not 
been previously established; — let him refer to a single proof 
of any kind that the destruction of the Jewish nation had 
anything to do, either with the beginning, or the establishing 
of the gospel kingdom, and this portion of the Treatise shall 
be confessed to be a failure. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 383 

But when the text before us is considered in its proper rela- 
tion to the second advent of our Lord, how definite, how evi- 
dent, how consoling its teaching ! In Dan. vii. 21, we learn 
that the "little horn" "made war with the saints, and pre- 
vailed against them, verse 22, Until the Ancient of Days 
came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most 
High ; and the time came that the saints possessed the 
ktngdom." And we learn also from the 25th verse, that he 
" shall wear out the saints of the Most High," " and they 
shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and the 
dividing of times. 26. But the judgment shall sit, and they 
shall take away his dominion to consume and destroy it unto 
the end. 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the great- 
ness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given 
to the saints of the Most High," &c. Chapter vii. 9-14, will 
still further explain the quotation, and so will chapter 
viii. 9-14. 

The Bible has no wmere contradicted the declaration of 
Christ to his disciples, "In the world ye shall have tribula- 
tion ; " John xvi. 33. The whole spirit, as well as the letter, 
of the Scriptures shows that God's people are not to expect 
any " continuing city " in this world. Their eye of hope has 
ever been directed to things beyond the present life. There 
is no promise, not one, of a time of general rest to God's peo- 
ple, before the second coming of Christ at the last day. 

The " redemption" for which they are encouraged to " lift 
up their heads," is something more than a mere temporary 
cessation or alleviation of their sufferings in this world. They 
are taught to look for their redemption from sufferings, and 
their final blessedness, in connection with their reception of 
" an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth 
not away, reserved in heaven for us, who are kept by the 
power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to he re- 
vealed in the last time / wherein we greatly rejoice, though 
now for a season (if need be) we are in heaviness through 
manifold temptations ; that the trial of our faith, being more 
precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with 
fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the 



384; HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

appearing of Jesus Christ." " Wherefore gird up the loins 
of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that 
is to be brought unto you, at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 
1 Pet. i. 4-7 and 13 * 

During the whole period of existence in this sinful world, 
the saints are represented as groaning within themselves, 
" waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption" of their 
" bodies :" Rom. viii. 23. "While dwelling in the " earthly 
house of this tabernacle," they " groan, earnestly desiring to 
be clothed upon with their house which is from heaven : " 2 
Cor. v. 1, 2. They are taught to expect entire redemption 
from all the sufferings of the present state, by being admit- 
ted into the everlasting kingdom of the Lord. But they were 
not to expect this until the return of the Lord Jesus. He 
goes to prepare a place for them ; and he will come unto them 
again, and receive them unto himself: John xiv. 3. But 
previous to his coming, he has declared that there should be 
the signs in the heavens, and in the earth and sea, which are 
recorded in Matt. xxiv. 29.f All these events should trans- 
pire in rapid succession ; and they should usher in his final 
coming to fulfill his promises to the elect, by gathering them 
together from the four winds of heaven. It is then that the 
servants that have improved their talents, shall " enter into 
the joy of their Lord." Chapter xxv. 14-23. " Then shall 
the king say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed 
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the 
foundation of the world ; " chapter xxv. 34. 

This will be the time of redemption to the saints. The 
very things that alarm the ungodly, and certify them of their 
doom, shall comfort the saints, and certify them of the com- 
ing of their Lord to save them. And when these things 
begin to come to pass, they are to look up, and lift up their 
heads, for their redemption draweth nigh : these events which 
immediately precede the second advent will not be long in 
their fulfillment ; and as soon as the Son of man cometh, the 
kingdom shall be given to the saints, to possess it forever. 

* See also Eph. i. 10-14. 

f As exhibited in the Harmony ; which se«. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 385 

Verse 32. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; when his branch is yet hin- 
der, AND PUTTETH FORTH LEAVES, YE KNOW THAT SUMMER IS NIGH. Verse 33. So 
LIKEWISE YE, WHEN YE SHALL SEE ALL THESE THINGS, KNOW THAT IT \Luke I THK 
KINGDOM OF God] IS NEAR, EVEN AT THE DOORS. 

After the foregoing observations, it is scarcely necessary to 
dwell for a moment upon these two verses. It should be care- 
fully noticed, however, that the " redemption" of which he 
spake was to be realized in connection with the coming of 
the " kingdom of God" And here it may as well be said, as 
anywhere else, that all the parables which the Saviour de- 
livered in connection with his prophecy, relate to the same 
period: they all refer to his second coming to judge and 
to reward : See chap. xxv. 5, 6, 10, 13 ; 19-23 ; 31, 34, 46. 
They all hold forth the time of separation between the two 
characters: verses 10, 12 ; 23, 30 ; 34, 41, 46. They all inti 
mate the closing up of human probation. They all seem 
clearly to teach the final result of a life of obedience, and a 
life of sin. And the coming of the Lord is set forth as the 
time when both characters are to be judged : the wicked 
punished by " outer darkness" and " everlasting punishment ;" 
the righteous glorified and blessed by admission to the mar- 
riage : verse 10 ; by entering into the joy of the Lord, reign- 
ing with him : verse 21 ; and by inheriting the everlasting 
kingdom : verses 34, 46. 

"When the fig-tree puts forth its leaves, they would know 
that summer was nigh. So when these things should begin to 
come to pass, they would know that their redemption was 
nigh : the time of admission to the marriage feast ; the time 
of being made ruler over many things ; the time of inheriting 
the kingdom : And the Bible everywhere points to this 
period as the time of complete happiness and glory to the 
saints. To this period Paul looked for his crown : 2 Tim. iv. 
8. To this period all the saints are directed to look for their 
final redemption : 2 Thess. i. 10. To this period the dead in 
Christ look as the time of receiving their full reward : Rev. 
xi. 15, 17, 18. For this period they are represented as pray- 
ing, and looking with hope : Rev. vi. 9-11. By the saints 
living, and to them that sleep in Jesus, this time is longed 
25 



386 HAHMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

after as the period of final redemption ; for when the Lord 
comes, he will bring with him such as have already died and 
waited in hope for the time of "judging the dead, and giving 
reward unto his servants ; " and then shall be gathered unto 
him also all that are alive and remain unto his coming. It is 
the day of final redemption ; to be ushered in as predicted 
by Christ and many of the prophets. 

The reader is requested now to examine Note P, in the 
Appendix, which treats more particularly of the primitive 
Christian doctrine of the Millennial Reign of Christ. 

Verse 34. Verily i say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all 

THESE THINGS BE FULFILLED. 

By many this verse has been deemed of itself sufficient to 
prove that all that had been predicted by our Saviour must 
be applied to Jerusalem and the Jews of that age, and not to 
the end of the world, because that generation (interpreted to 
mean those then living) should not pass until all should be 
fulfilled. 

Bishop Newton observes, " It is to *ne a wonder how any 
man can refer part of the foregoing discourse to the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, and part to the end of the world, or any 
other distant event, when it is said so positively here in the 
conclusion, All these things shall he fulfilled in this genera- 
tion" The Bishop makes no attempt to prove that yevsd, has, 
or must have, this meaning in the verse under notice ; he 
seems to have supposed that it should be taken for granted 
by every one, that this is the proper and common meaning 
of the word ; yet he must have known that the word was not 
usually so understood either by classical or inspired writers ; 
and that the meaning which he insisted upon was very gen- 
erally disallowed by the more ancient Christian divines. And 
yet how positive he is in maintaining his assertion ! He even 
deems the bare expression, " this generation," a sufficient 
proof that all that has preceded it in the prophecy should be 
applied to Jerusalem. 

Dr. Whitby is, if possible, still more positive than the for- 
mer. But Whitby usually has the merit of undertaking to 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 387 

prove his assertions. This, it may be observed, is, to some 
extent, the difference between these two great and excellent 
men : Newton more frequently asserts, without laboring to 
prove ; Whitby almost always brings forth his strong reasons. 
One is the better historian ; the other, the better logician. 
Newton labors to illustrate his position ; Whitby labors to 
establish it. It is so in respect of the matter now before us. 
Whitby' says, " These words, *j ysvza. aDrnj, ' this age, (or gen- 
eration,) shall not pass away,' afford a full demonstration that 
all which Christ had mentioned hitherto was to be accom- 
plished, not at the time of the conversion of the Jews, or at 
the final day of judgment, but in that very age, or whilst 
some of that generation of men lived ; for ysvsa a&Vi?, < this 
generation,' never bears any other sense in the New Testement 
than the men of this age."* Then follow quotations and ref- 
erences, as follows : Matt. xi. 16 ; xii. 42, 45 ; xxiii. 36 ; Mark 
viii. 12 ; Luke vii. 31 ; xi. 29, 30, 32, 50, 51 ; xvi. 8 ; Acts 
ii. 40. 

In reply to this, let it be noticed, 

1. That the affirmation concerning the New Testament use 
of the word, is by no means proved by the passages referred 
to. 

(1.) Matt. xi. 16 : " But whereunto shall I liken this gener- 
ation ? It is like unto children sitting in the markets," &c. 
The whole passage relates to the captiousness and obstinacy 
of the Jews generally, in their treatment of their divinely 
commissioned teachers. The particular instances referred to 
had reference to the reception of John, and of Christ him- 
self. Now let it be remembered that this trait in the Jews 
was not confined to the men of that time ; nor was it, per- 
haps, any more characteristic of those then living than of men 
of former times, and of times subsequent. Captiousness and 
obstinacy were from the beginning a striking characteristic 
of that /svea, — of that race, or kind of people. There are 
multitudes of references to this trait in Jewish character in 
both the Old Testament and the New. It may be admitted, 

* As great and a<> learned men, as will be hereafter shown, have been of 
quite another opinion- 



388 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

indeed, that Christ had more particular reference to his own 
and John's treatment by the persons then living ; but the ex- 
pression, " this generation,' 7 did not limit the character devel- 
oped to that age ; it had been developed in almost every age. 
That generation — that people — that race of people — had 
been accustomed to display the same character from the times 
of their fathers, who had " killed the prophets, and stoned 
those that were sent unto them." 

(2.) The next references are to Matt. xii. 42, 45 ; to these 
there should have been added verse 39, which introduces the 
subject. Terse 38 : " Then certain of the Scribes and Phari- 
sees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 
39. But he answered and said to them, An evil and adulterous 
generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be giv- 
en to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. 40. For as Jonas 
was three days and three nights in the whale's belly ; so shall 
the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart 
of the earth." Then follow three other instances of the use 
of the word generation, which will be considered in due time. 

In respect to that generation seeking a sign, though it was 
true of the people then living, they were not called a genera- 
tion because they were then alive ; but they were simply ad- 
dressed as an evil and adulterous people. ^Neither was this 
peculiar to those then living, nor can it be justly limited to 
those then alive. 

They were that sort of people. To seek for signs was a Jew- 
ish characteristic ; " For the Jews require a sign, and the 
Greeks seek after wisdom :" 1 Cor. i. 22. This was not to be 
restricted to those of any particular age ; it was characteristic 
of the races: the Greeks, as sl people, were thus characterized ; 
and the Jews, as a ysvsa, were so characterized from the be- 
ginning. 

Moses knew very well that some sign must be exhibited by 
him, in order to make the people believe ; and the Lord gave 
him power to exhibit several signs to convince the people. 
See Ex. iv. 1-9. The people living at the time of Christ were 
" evil and adulterous," just as their fathers had been before 
them. Being in covenant relation with God, under the simili- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 389 

tude of a marriage contract, they were often charged with 
adultery on account of their evil conduct. But it is a ques- 
tion whether the people were in the time of Christ particu- 
larly distinguished on this account from their ancestors for 
many ages. A little acquaintance with Malachi and most of 
the other prophets, will suffice to show that the Saviour's ex- 
pression in respect to their being " evil and adulterous," and 
" seeking after a sign," must not be restricted to the men of 
that age. The men of that age did exhibit the national traits, 
but they were not called a generation because they were then 
living, but on account of being of a certain race, or lineage. 
This appears the more certain from an expression of the Sa- 
viour just previously ; verse 34 : " O generation of vipers, 
how can ye, being evil, speak good things ?" 

Dr. Clarke's note on a similar expression is impressive : 
Matt. iii. 7, (The words of John,) " O generation of vipers, 
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ?" " A 
terribly expressive speech. A serpentine brood from a ser- 
pentine stock. As their fathers were, so were they, children 
of the wicked one." Our Lord uses the same expression in 
Matt, xxiii., and it seems that he bestowed the epithet upon 
the men of that age, not because they were living at that 
time, but on account of their descent. Yerse 31 : " Where- 
fore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children 
of them which killed the prophets. 32. Fill ye up then the 
measure of your fathers. 33. Ye serpents, ye generation of 
vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell ?" 

The intention of the word " generation" here is too evident 
to need further elucidation ; unless it be simply to repeat, that 
they were not called a generation because they were living at 
that time, but because of their lineage and character. So in 
respect to verse 36 : " Yerily I say unto you, All these thing8 
shall come upon this generation." 

ISTow to limit the term to the persons then living, will ne- 
cessarily lead to the following untenable conclusions : first, 
that the blood of all the martyrs from the beginning, should 
be visited upon the persons living at the same period of time. 
Now this is neither just, true, nor according to God's estab- 



890 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

lislied system of governing the world. It would not be just: 
it would be isolating the people of a particular time, and ma- 
king them to bear the punishment for sins of which they of 
that time were not guilty. It would contradict all our con- 
victions of equity and wisdom in the administration of justice. 

Such a restriction of the term would not be in harmony 
with truth. It is not true that the men then living were pun- 
ished for all the blood shed by their fathers. Much of the 
previous sufferings of the Jews were on account of their treat- 
ment of their prophets ; and much of the after suffering 
should undoubtedly be attributed to the same source. The 
calamities that befell the Jews then living , were but a little 
more distressing than had befallen the Jews in previous ages ; 
and but a little more distressing than befell them under the 
Emperor Adrian, about fifty years after their overthrow by 
Titus. 

Now to suppose that the men of that age were punished for 
all the blood shed upon the earth from the beginning, in ad- 
dition to their own blood-guiltiness in murdering the Lord 
Jesus ; and yet suffered only a little more severely, in the 
same kind, than their fathers and descendents suffered, is, to 
say the least, speaking without demonstration. And it can- 
not help the matter by saying, that the overthrow and calam- 
ity of the Jews at that time lasted longer than any former 
desolation ; for if the generation upon whom the whole was 
to be visited, meant the men of that a-ge, then, of course, the 
eighteen centuries of continued affliction must be left out of 
the account. The restriction of the punishment of all the 
previous martyrdoms to the people that were then living, is 
not in accordance with truth. Neither is it in harmony with 
God's established principles of administration. He visits the 
iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and 
fourth generations of them that hate him. But to concentrate 
the punishment of fifty generations — that is, fifty successions, 
or productions of men, reckoning from father to son, — to 
concentrate all upon those living at any one period of time, 
is directly at variance with this divine method of adminis- 
tration. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 391 

There is no difficulty at all in understanding this matter, 
and keeping rigidly to the etymological meaning of the term 
generation. Indeed, this is the only possible method of rec- 
onciling the declaration of Christ with truth, justice, and the 
divine principles of government. It is according to truth, 
justice, and the divine procedure, to deal with races as races. 
And this was particularly and eminently true in respect to 
the Jewish ysved. — race, generation, or kind of people. As a 
ysvsd, they had shed all this blood of martyrdom ; as a yevsd, 
they should be punished for it ; not any part of it should be 
left out. What had not been before visited upon them, as a 
yevzd of people, should nevertheless be visited upon them. 
This is not only God's published method of dealing with men, 
but it is the historically and experimentally proved method 
of governing the world. Upon that ysvsd, thus scripturally 
and historically explained, there should indeed be visited all 
the iniquities that they, as a people, had committed. 

But did not the Lord — speaking to those then living — say, 
" That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon 
the earth," &c ? He did, indeed. And did he not in the 
same connection — speaking of the death of Zecharias* — 
say, whom ye slew ? Did he not also say, Behold, your house 
is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, ye shall not see 
me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in 
the name of the Lord ? 

What can be more certain, than that he was not here speak- 
ing restrict! vely to those before him, but of them as a partic- 
ular ynea — race, ox family of men? As such, they had in- 
deed slain not only Zecharias, but many others ; as such, they 
possessed the house of the Lord : to them the temple should 
continue desolate, until they, as a people, shall be brought to 
say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And 
this they, as a ysvsa — - shall certainly do ; for so it is written 
in the prophecies ; and in the same connection, in many pla- 
ces, it is as clearly predicted that Jerusalem shall be again 

* Commentators are obliged to refer this to a martyrdom several hundred 
years before the time of Christ. See Whitby, Clarke, Wesley, <fcc. 



392 barmony and exposition. 

built, and be holy unto the Lord. " For the children of Israel 
shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, 
and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an 
ephod, and without a teraphim : Afterwards shall the chil- 
dren of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and Da- 
vid their Icing ; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in 
in the latter days." Hos. iii. 4, 5. 

Our Lord was accustomed to speak of a /evea, or class of 
men, as if they were all before him, though they might be 
expected to continue for many ages. The ministers of Christ, as 
a distinct ysvsa, are still acting under the authority, and still 
claiming the promise, of the original commission which was 
thus delivered to the apostles : " Go ye therefore, and teach 
all nations : , . . . and lo, I am with you to the end of 
the world." 

Thus we see that the instances of the use of the word ysvsa, 
which was supposed to be most decisive in limiting the term 
to the persons then living, so far from deciding the matter in 
that way, do most evidently decide it against that application, 
and in favor of the primitive and ordinary use of the term, 
— meaning a race, lineage, or class of people. 

The other instances which Whitby cites to prove the limi- 
tation of the term to the men of that particular time, have no 
more logical potency than those already considered : the whole 
argument of Whitby is open to the charge of entire miscon- 
ception, not only of the legitimate and Scripture use of the 
term, but also of the teachings of all history, our natural con- 
victions of equity, and the established principles of divine 
legislation. 

Besides, such a restriction of the term in question, not only 
hopelessly embarrasses all our endeavors to systematize and 
expound the Lord's discourse, but (to use a homely, yet ex- 
pressive word) it entirely ignores that most important verse 
from Luke which refers to the treading down of Jerusalem 
by the Gentiles. That verse cannot be otherwise than of the 
highest importance. But how has it been treated ? The ink 
almost blushes that records the inquiry. It has indeed been 
alluded to by most, perhaps all, of our commentators. But 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 393 

what influence lias it been allowed to exert in explaining and 
modifying their theories of interpretation % What influence? 
Let him answer who can find in many of our Commentaries 
the least evidence that it was esteemed of any importance, 
either in its chronological relations, or historic teaching. Be- 
longing necessarily to a previous part of the prophecy, and 
yet reaching forward for its complete fulfillment to a still fu- 
ture day, the expression, " This generation shall not pass until 
all these things be fulfilled," is affirmed to include all that had 
previously been spoken ; and yet the word generation is as 
confidently asserted to include only the men of that age. 

Whitby is a powerful reasoner ; and when he proceeds from 
correct premises, the author of this Treatise is not anxious to 
stand in the way of his logic, for there is usually an over- 
whelming power in it. But when, by an erroneous theory, 
he is led to reason from incorrect premises, Whitby, like 
Samson from Delilah's lap, rises up shorn of his locks. 

The author was not aware, when he adopted his present 
views, (which was about ten years ago,) that any leading di- 
vines had been led to the same conclusions respecting the use 
of the word ysvsa. So far as he has power to recollect how he 
obtained his impressions, it was rather from a consideration 
of the nature and necessities of the case, than from any criti- 
cal examination of the word in question. It is with great 
pleasure that he finds that others, more wise, more learned, 
more good, have also come to the same conclusions ; and, ap- 
parently, from the same independent, personal research ; and 
from the same consideration of the nature and circumstances 
of the case. Among this number it is pleasing to reckon Dr. 
Adam Clarke. This truly learned divine, like many others, 
was accasionally led into glaring errors, hy trusting to the re- 
searches and opinions of others, as has been previously shown 
in respect to several matters pertaining to the Jewish war, 
and the progress of the primitive Christian church. Those 
matters he had not thoroughly examined himself: he trusted 
to the report of others, and was lamentably, yet undeniably 
deceived. General history was not his proper sphere of labor 
and research. His special endowment was for the investiga- 



394: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

tion and elucidation of Oriental customs and literature. In 
that department he scarcely had a peer. In that department, 
in the nature of the case, he must have excelled in his knowl- 
edge of the languages in which the Scriptures were written ; 
and he seems, indeed, to have had an almost intuitive percep- 
tion of the use and proprieties of the ancient languages. He 
not only understood the languages scientifically, but he seems 
to have been perfectly familiar with the idioms, and, of course, 
the uses of the various forms of speech which it became his 

peculiar province to examine. 

As might be expected, then, though unfortunately embar- 
rassed by an erroneous theory which, by the way, he adopted 
from others ; and misinformed in respect to some important 
historical matters, which he had, perhaps, neither time nor 
taste to examine ; yet, after all, he was too thoroughly and 
independently skilled in his own peculiar department as an 
antiquarian in ancient languages and customs, to be led into 
an important error in the nature and use of so common and 
plain a word as yeved. He well understood its derivation, its 
composition, and its classic and Scripture use. His opinion 
in this matter should not be hastily thrown aside. 

In giving his opinion of this term, however, which he does 
frequently and confidently, he was obliged to differ from those 
whom he usually (some would say blindly) followed. See his 
note on the passage last under notice. 

Matt, xxiii., 33 : "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, &c] 
" What a terrible stroke — Ye are serpents, and the offspring 
of serpents. This refers to verse 31. They confessed that 
they were the children of those who murdered the prophets ; 
and they are now going to murder Christ and his followers, to 
show that they have not degenerated — an accursed seed, of an 
accursed oreed" Yerse 36 : " Shall come upon this generation.] 
E*i T^v yevsdv Taumjv, upon this race of men, viz: the Jews. 
This phrase often occurs in this sense in the evangelists." 
Matt, xi., 16 : " Whereunto shall I liken this generation f] 
That is, the Jewish people — T^v <ysved» Taurtjv, this race f and 
so the word yevsa is often to be understood in the evangelists." 
Matt. xii. 39 : " An evil an adulterous generation.] Or race 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 395 

of peeple ; for so ysvsa, should be translated here, and in most 
other places in the gospels : for our Lord, in general, uses it to 
point out the Jewish people. This translation is a key to unlock 
some very obscure passages in the evangelists." " Our Lord 
terms the Jews an adulterous race." Luke xi. 29 : " This 
is an evil generation^ Or, This is a wicked race of men. 
See on Matt. xii. 38-42. Matt. xxiv. 34 : " This generation 
shall not pass.~\ E ysvsd avrri y this race; i. e., the Jews shall 
not cease from being a distinct people, till all the counsels of 
God relative to them and the Gentiles be fulfilled. Some 
translate *i ysvea* aurnj, this generation, meaning the persons 
who were then living, that they should not die before these 
signs, &c, took place. But though this was true, as to the 
calamities that fell upon the Jews, at the destruction of their 
government, temple, &c. ; yet as our Lord mentions Jerusa- 
lem's continuing to be under the power of the Gentiles, till 
the fullness of the Gentiles should come in, i. e., till all the 
nations of the world should receive the gospel of Christ, after 
which the Jews themselves should be converted unto God, 
Rom. xi. 25, &c. I think it more proper not to restrain its 
meaning to the few years which preceded the destruction of 
Jerusalem ; but to understand it of the care taken by Divine 
Providence to preserve them as a distinct people, and yet to 
keep them out of their own land, and from their temple ser- 
vice." Thus far Dr. Clarke. 

In the generally excellent work of Eev. Joseph Toweks, 
LL. D., entitled "Illustrations of Prophecy," to which refer- 
ence has been had previously, we find the following observa- 
tions on the text under notice : * " This clause of the predic- 
tion has, I conceive, not merely been generally misapprehend- 
ed, but moreover falsely translated ; and this is the opinion 
of men, who hold the first rank in Scriptural criticism, name- 
ly, of MEDE,f and "Wolfius, and Dr. Sykes. To the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem a Mr. Hayne had applied this part of our 
Lord's prophecy. Hear a part of Mr. Mede's reply : ' I an- 

* First American ed. 1808, 2d. vol. on p. 176. 

f This Mr. Mede was called the most learned man of his age. 



396 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

swer, first, while you endeavor in this manner to establish a 
ground for the first coming of Christ, you bereave the church 
of those principal passages of the Scripture, whereon she hath 
always grounded her faith of the second coming* Secondly, 
you ground all this upon the ambiguity of the word genera- 
tion^ whereas, ysvsa, signifies not only setas, but gens, natio 
progenies ; and so ought to be here taken, viz : the nation of 
the Jews should not perish, till all these things were fulfilled. 
For so signifies irap£\6ri in the Hebrew notion, as you may see 
even in the verse following. Chrysostom among the ancients, 
and Flachjs Illyricus (a man well skilled in the style of 
Scripture,) among the moderns, and those who follow them, 
might have admonished others to take the word ysvsa in this 
acceptation, rather than by turning it oetas, or seculum, to 
put this prophecy in little ease, and the whole harmony of 
Scripture out of frame, by I know not what confused interpre- 
tation?^ " I only add," continues Dr. Towers, " that Dr. 
Sykes declares himself the more confirmed in this translation 
1 from the remarkable, and indeed, unparalleled, preservation 
of the Jews in the midst of hatred and continued persecutions.' 
The meaning then is, the Jewish nation shall assuredly sub- 
sist as a distinct people, till all that has been previously men- 
tioned shall have been fulfilled" &c. In a note, Dr. Towers 
adds, " Indeed, by the fathers in general, who must be ad- 
mitted to have been competent judges of the meaning of the 
word, ysvsa was not understood as signifying the generation 
then living. Some persons, however, there were, who held 
this opinion ; but, says Maldonatus, Origen entitles them 
simplices." 

It is not a little remarkable, after the use which Newton, 
Whitby, Wesley, Watson, Burkitt, and others, have made of 

* How true ! And by this we also learn what had always been the general 
understanding of this pai't of the prophecy. The principal effort of this Trea- 
tise is to correct a prevalent, dangerous, and modem error, and bring back the 
church to its ancient faith. 

\ So it must ever be, whenever any but the legitimate construction is put 
upon the word in question. As Mr. Mede observes, it puts the whole luirmony 
of Scripture out of frame, to translate the term ygvgcc i n t-bi 3 place so as to be 
limited to that particular age. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 397 

the word generation, how little authority they can bring even 
from the English definition of the term. 

Walker's large Dictionary gives seven definitions of the 
word, hut two of which, (and these are the last mentioned,) 
even favor the use to which this Treatise objects; and these 
two definitions are neither of them decisive. Webster's 
Quarto Dictionary gives seven different classes of definitions ; 
and but one of them favors the use of the word here objected 
to. Out of thirteen or fourteen different definitions, but two 
favor the application of the term to those living at the same 
time, and but one is really decisive. For a further disserta- 
tion on the word yevea, the reader will please consult Note Q, 
in the Appendix.* 

The word generation, then, so far from embarrassing this 
method of expounding the Lord's prophecy, is, in fact, a most 
important auxiliary in harmonizing and elucidating some of 
the parts which have been deemed most obscure. The pre- 
dicted gathering of the elect, and the long continued desola- 
tion, but finally implied restoration, of Jerusalem, and the 
astonishing preservation of that most unfortunate and yet for- 
tunate people, all derive light from the prophecy of our Lord, 
that " this ysvsa " — this race — of people shall not pass away 
until all these things be fulfilled. 

Verse 35. Heaven and earth shall pass away ; but my words shall not pass 

AWAY. 

This verse and the preceding, together with the 19th verse 
of Matt., are remarkable for their exact similarity in all three 
of the records. This may be accounted for in part by the re- 
markableness of the predictions, and by their being so well 
adapted to affect the heart. And they have an important use 
in the discourse, by dividing it into several distinct portions, 
so that it is the more easy to arrange the many subjects treated 
of into chronological order. 

As yet we have not found a single instance of metaphorical 
language in the prophecy ; all has been simple, literal prose. 
Neither do we find any occasion to resort to the common meth- 

*£Jee Note Q, in the Appendix. 



398 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

od of metaphorizing this verse in order to explain it. That there 
shall be a change of the present earth and heavens, is as dis- 
tinctly taught in both the Old Testament and the New, as 
that God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. 
The evident reason for the introduction of the subject in this 
connection, was, to confirm the wonderful prediction that 
Christ had just uttered. After describing the astonishing 
events which he had already predicted, respecting the over- 
throw and captivity of the Jews, and their dispersion into all 
nations, while their temple and city were in utter desolation, 
and under the foot of the Gentiles ; after describing the won- 
ders in the heavens, on the earth, and in the sea ; after de- 
scribing his own advent with his angels, coming in the clouds 
of the heavens ; after predicting the final assembling of all the 
elect, — and then affirming that that conquered, captivated, 
dispersed, down-trodden people should survive the whole, it 
needed some strong affirmation to assure their still feeble faith. 
This assurance was given in the words of the text : Heaven 
and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 
His words would prove more reliable than the foundations of 
the earth, or the pillars of heaven. Thus far everything has 
transpired just as he has predicted : the words which are yet 
unfulfilled shall not fail to be accomplished. Let the infidel 
tremble; let the Christian — let the son of Jacob — rejoice. 

Verse 36. But of that day and houe knoweth no man, no, not the angels 
of heaven, {Mark : neither the Son,] but my Father only. 

The difficulty of ascertaining the time when the great day 
of the Lord would come, would even prevent the angels from 
knowing it for a time at least ; although they will not proba- 
bly continue in ignorance of it until the moment of their com- 
ing with the Lord ; they will undoubtedly receive such inti- 
mations and instructions as will guard them against surprise 
when the command is given for all the heavenly host to ac- 
company their Lord in his judgment visit to the earth. But 
at the time when the Saviour gave this prophecy, not only 
were the angels in ignorance of the time, but even he himself 
— the Son did not know it. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 399 

The two-fold nature of Christ is very frequently brought to 
view in the Scriptures ; he was " God manifest in the flesh." 
His words and actions were God manifest through the flesh. 
And all, of necessity, were modified by the flesh. Sometimes 
he appears only as a man, professing to be subject to, inferior 
to, and dependent upon, the Father, by whom he was com- 
missioned, sent, instructed, supported, guided. The proper 
humanity of Christ is as important for the world as the proper 
divinity of Christ. As man — real man — the Son could do 
nothing of himself ; the Father that dwelt in him did the 
works. As man, he was not informed of the time of his own 
second advent ; for, for some reason which we may not be 
able to discover, the Father exercised the control over the 
times and seasons. Our Saviour sufficiently indicated this, 
when he replied to the inquiries of the apostles, if he would 
at that time restore the kingdom to Israel : " It is not for you 
to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in 
his own power :" Acts i. 7. 

Wesley's note on the verse before us is sufficiently plain : 
" Neither the Son — not as man : as man he was no more om- 
niscient than omnipresent. But as God, he knows all the cir- 
cumstances of it." 

[Luke: And take heed to yourselves,] [Mark : Watch and prat, for tk 

KNOW NOT WHEN THE TIME IS.] 

It cannot be denied, that in a multitude of places, the judg- 
ment advent of the Lord is so represented in the Scriptures, 
that the duty of watching and living in readiness for it, is 
everywhere commanded or encouraged. So evidently did St. 
Paul speak of it as a subject of expectation and present con- 
cern, that the Thessalonians needed to be cautioned against 
expecting it until after certain other events had occurred. 
There are very many references to the coming of the day of 
God, which seem to have been calculated to impress the mind 
that it might come upon them unawares, at almost any mo- 
ment. Hence, the Saviour's exhortation to take heed, to 
watch, and to pray, because they did not know when the time 
would be. From this we learn three things : 



400 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

(1.) Character of the event. It will a matter of solemn and 
decisive influence npon all. The guilty are to look for it with 
fearful apprehension ; the righteous with joyful anticipation. 
It will be something besides the gradual, peaceful, and finally 
universal extension of Christianity abroad in the earth. This 
would indeed be a subject of gladness to the Christian ; but 
why the uncertainty of the time of its occurrence should be a 
reason for all generations of Christians to live in watchfulness 
and prayer, is beyond the power of any man to explain. And 
if this is what is meant by the coming of the Lord, who can 
tell why it should be a subject of fearful apprehension to the 
wicked ? No, the character of the event is far otherwise : it 
is of such, a nature, that if we be found off our guard, or not 
watching for our Lord, he will come upon us unawares, and 
appoint our portion with hypocrites and unbelievers. 

(2.) We learn likewise the character of the coming : It will 
not be a gradual passing away of night, and the slow dawn- 
ing of millennial day. It will be sudden, and to many un- 
looked for, and unprepared for. Hence, the necessity of 
unceasing watchfulness, because we know not when the time 
is. And the coming will be so sudden, that there will be no 
opportunity to prepare for it after the event begins. So that 
we should live in constant readiness for it. 

(3.) Finally, we learn the utter absurdity of the supposition, 
that the Lord is not to come until after a thousand years of 
uninterrupted righteousness and peace. For with what pro- 
priety could Christ and the apostles so constantly refer to this 
judgment-coming, as a reason for unceasing watchfulness, 
lest it overtake them unprepared? With what propriety 
could they knowingly and intentionally produce the abiding 
and operative impression, that the day of the Lord might 
come at any time ; and thus keep the church in all ages in a 
degree of expectation of it, if they knew that it would not, 
and could not come at all, until there had first been a millen- 
nium of universal peace ? 

Christ and the apostles certainly must have known whether 
the judgment-advent was pre-millennial or not. And if, as is 
generally now supposed, the second coming is to be after the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 401 

millennium, how they could with any degree of propriety speak 
of it as if it were liable to come at anytime during all the ages 
of the gospel dispensation, so that it would be the duty of all to 
be watching for the coming of the Lord, and watching and pray- 
ing to be kept in readiness for that day ; — how they could by 
parables, admonitions, warnings, and encouragements, de- 
signedly influence the church to be impressed with the con- 
viction that the day of the Lord might come upon them even 
during the present life in a world of sin, is more than any man 
can explain so as to satisfy a rational mind. 

It is just as certain as language can make it, that the com- 
ing of that day is always represented in a way that is calcu- 
lated to leave the impression on the mind, that it may come 
now. And it is never described in a way that is calculated to 
produce the impression, that it will be preceded by a millen- 
nium of peace ; or, in a way that is calculated to produce the 
impression, that all who live previously to the millennium, or 
during the millennium, need not be watching and prepar- 
ing for it. 

How can those who believe that the second advent will be 
post-millennial explain these things, so as to leave to the Lord 
and his apostles an appearance of common honesty ? It has 
never yet been done. Can the man be found to undertake it ? 
The theory maintained in this Treatise is wholly free from 
this embarrassment. 

(1.) It represents Christ not as addressing himself exclu- 
sively to either the Jews or the Christians of that age, any 
more than he did to the apostles, in giving the original com- 
mission to disciple the nations. He addressed the Jews as a 
ysved, and the Christians as a ysvsd, that would continue to the 
end of the world. And wjien he exhorted them to watch 
and pray, in view of the uncertainty of the time, he intended 
that the exhortations should be appropriate while the world 
continued ; as he himself distinctly proclaimed, " What I say 
unto you, I say unto all, watch." 

(2.) Christ himself, and the prophets and apostles, always 
represented that the day of the Lord would come suddenly, 
and, to the world in general, unexpectedly. It was not to be 
36 



402 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

preceded by such alarms and tokens as would call the world's 
attention to it, and arouse the careless. It was not to be 
ushered in by a thousand years of universal peace, at the 
close of which they might begin to expect the judgment. 
It was predicted to come upon a wicked world as a thief in 
the night ; as travail upon a woman with child ; as the flood 
upon the old world ; as the fiery deluge upon Sodom. 

(3.) Christ has distinctly affirmed that it will come " imme- 
diately after the tribulation of those days" which was to be 
limited by the times of the Gentiles. But when the chain of 
special favor to the Gentiles shall reach its last unseen link 
of extension, God has not seen fit to reveal, and man has no 
power to discover. But, without any extraordinary event to 
mark its termination ; the limit being not a limit of occurren- 
ces, but a fullness of times ; then, " the set time to favor 
Zion" having come ; the days of Israel's desolation ended ; 
then, " immediately after" shall the sun be darkened, and 
the moon shall withhold her light, and the stars shall with- 
draw their shining. And then shall appear the sign of the 
Son of man in heaven. 

Thus will the day of the Lord — including the events that 
precede and attend his coming — be sudden, unexpected, and 
terrible to those who are not living in readiness for it. It 
appears — not only from the fact that the gathering of the 
elect will follow this coming — but from several other portions 
of the Scripture, that only, a part — perhaps but a small part 
of the Jews, will be gathered in Palestine previous to the 
Lord's coming ; and — excepting the gathering of their ene- 
mies to prevent their settlement — there does not appear to 
be any especial event pointed out in Scripture as a sign that 
the Lord is about to come. And this gathering of the na- 
tions will be so much like other similar invasions, and have 
bo little apparent connections with the second advent of 
Christ, that even when it is seen, probably not one in a hun- 
dred will be ready to believe it is to be the last great event 
before the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars. They will 
treat it just as you, reader, may be even at this moment 
treating this reference to the subject — with scoffing or jndif- 






HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 403 

ference, as the ravings of a maniac, or the babblings of a fool. 
And so the day of the Lord will come as a snare upon all 
them that dwell upon the face of the whole earth. 

(4.) When to all this is added, that the Father has never 
seen fit to reveal how long the time of favor shall be extended 
to the Gentiles — whether it shall be for a still longer period, or 
a short one ; and also that the Scriptures nowhere certify that 
the gospel shall conquer the world previous to the coming of 
the Lord ; but that the times of the Gentiles may close with 
as little warning as the cup of iniquity was filled by the Jews, 
previously to their doom being fixed by the invasion of the 
Romans ; — when we keep in mind that the end of the world 
is to come while the wheat and the tares are growing together 
in the field, and God has never yet informed us of the times 
and seasons so that we may calculate when he shall say to the 
angels, Thrust in the sickle, for the harvest of the earth is 
ripe ; — when we consider — just as Christ says — that we can 
know neither the day nor the hour when he shall come, we 
cannot fail to see the reasonableness of continual watching 
throughout all the successive ages of Christian times. And 
there was a particular reason why we should be continually 
admonished, which cannot apply to the theory of the post- 
millennial advent, which professes that hundreds, and perhaps 
thousands of years, must intervene before the judgment-com- 
ing ; for the true theory professes no such thing. And the 
only event which is given to indicate the nearness of the day, 
may transpire as unexpectedly and suddenly as similar events 
in almost all ages of the world. But it is no where taught in 
the Scriptures that none shall see evidences of his coming, 
when the day draws near. Those who are searching the 
Scriptures — (but, alas ! they are few — very few) — to know 
what the Lord has given as an indication of his near approach, 
will, of course, not fail to see the fig-tree putteth forth leaves, 
to indicate that summer is nigh. And perhaps this very 
beginning on the part of the Jews to establish themselves, and 
this very token of the ending of the times of the Gentiles, 
will be the first among the preceding signs. And when it is 



404 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

followed by the gathering of the nations against them, we 
shall know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 

[Luke : Lest at ant time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and 

DRUNKENNESS, AND CARES OF THIS LIFE, AND SO THAT DAY COME UPON YOU UNAWARES.] 

Gluttony has a debasing, stupifying effect, rendering the 
person gross, heavy, sensual. Such a one is almost totally in- 
capacitated for refined, elevating, spiritual enjoyments and 
contemplations. His anxieties and. affections have almost 
exclusive reference to the things that are of the earth, earthy. 
This world is his possession ; this world his home, his hope. 
The glutton cannot be expected to look away from the things 
that are seen and temporal, and desire with spiritual longings 
the things which are unseen and eternal. His carefulness will 
not be to stand with his loins girt about with righteousness, 
waiting for the return of his Lord ; his principal solicitude 
will be, What shall I eat % what shall I drink ? Gluttony, 
with its two results, grossness and heaviness, will be the horse- 
leech in his soul, with its two daughters, crying to this world, 
Give, Give. Such a one will be earthly minded, sensual, 
loving this present evil world, and in no proper sense living 
a life of self-denial, and crucifixion of the flesh with its lusts. 
He is neither now ready to see his Lord, nor getting ready ; 
nor will he be in a suitable frame to receive admonition from 
the comparatively unimportant, and apparently irrelevant 
events that to the believing, and the watchful, will indicate 
the sudden approach of the day, as the fig-leaf indicates that 
summer is nigh. 

Reveling at his feast, like Belshazzar, or lazily dozing and 
dreaming away the heaviness of a recent overcharge of sur- 
feiting, the sluggard, with his eyes half opened, and almost 
unimpressible to anything but the savory indications of an- 
other feast, will cry, " A little more sleep, a little more slum- 
ber, a little more folding of the hands to sleep." Thus, eat- 
ing, and drinking, in the intense import of the terms ; or, 
drowsing between the successive festivals ; or, throwing off 
with unspiritual hilarity his exuberance of fat, he will be in 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 405 

any but the proper frame of sobriety and watchfulness in the 
expectation of his Lord. 

" And drunkenness " is, if possible, still worse than the for- 
mer. No drunkard hath eternal life abiding in him, for he is 
a self-murderer ; and he shall not inherit the kingdom of 
God. Reeling, or raving, blaspheming, or sleeping, under 
the effects of his self-murdering potions ; or, linked in the 
entangling chain-work of bacchanalian association and revelry ; 
or, hardened and maddened against God and goodness, how 
can he be either looking for the Lord, or watching the slight 
premonitions of his sudden coming ? And yet all Christians — > 
Christians in all ages — are liable to be overcome with these 
easily besetting, these carnally pleasing, these, alas! too 
common, too fashionable, and yet ruinous, customs of civilized 
as well as barbarous societies. 

" And cares of this UfeP Oh, how many Demases there 
are in the church, even, who turn away from the faith of the 
gospel, and make a god of this world ! Taking thought for 
the morrow,* and having but little heed for the kingdom of 
God, but anxiously inquiring, What shall we eat, what shall 
we drink, and wherewithal shall we be clothed, they cannot 
find time to attend to the things of the kingdom ; f and, alas ! 
alas ! the prophecies of our Lord and his servants have been 
so generally, and so (to many) hopelessly confused and con- 
founded, that the man of this world, whether in the church, 
or out of it, despairs of ever being able to comprehend what 
he thinks perhaps might have been originally intended in 
some measure to instruct and admonish the common mind in 
respect to these now inexplicable teachings of what appears 
to him to be the most inexplicable of books. Excusing him- 
self, then, from want of capacity to digest the milk of the 
word, his business and ambitious leadings are all earthward ; 
and with perpetual lookings and bendings downward, he has 
hardly strength or inclination to look heavenward. Even 
when these signs " begin to come to pass," he will be hardly 

* The -word thought formerly meant about what is now expressed by the 
word anxiety. 
f See Matt. vi. 31-34. 



406 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

able to lift up his head, and look up, in expectation that his 
redemption is drawing nigh. 

Perhaps he has not even a distinct impression, or any well 
digested conviction, with respect to the fact or nature of the 
great day of the Lord. Perhaps he is still looking for an 
universal spread of purity and peace before the Lord's com- 
ing ; and cannot, of course, be impressed with the necessity 
of living in readiness to meet his Master at his coming to 
reckon with his servants. So he suffers himself to be over- 
charged with the cares of this life ; the thorns spring up and 
choke the good seed, and it becomes unfruitful. He, too, 
with the drunkard and the glutton, will be unready for the 
return of his Lord ; " and so that day will come upon him, 



[Luke : For as a snare shall it come upon all them that dwell upon rag 

FACE OF THE WHOLE EARTH.} 

It (the day) shall come upon the inhabitants of the earth 
everywhere suddenly, and unexpectedly, as a snare is sprung 
suddenly and unexpectedly upon the unsuspecting game that 
the hunter thus successfully entraps. Infidels will not expect 
it, for they deny the prophecy. Unwersalists will not expect 
it, for they misinterpret the prophecy. Heathen will not 
sxpect it, for they do not know the prophecy. Romanists will 
not expect it, for they will be still looking for the downfall 
of Protestantism, by gradual conquest. Protestants will not 
generally expect it, for they will be looking for the destruc- 
tion of Antichrist, not by a personal, but by a spiritual com- 
ing, to destroy the Man of Sin, not by judgment fires, but by 
gospel light 

And so, after all the Lord has said, either by a downright 
infidelity, or by a ruinous delusion ; either by not knowing 
the word of prophecy, or by misunderstanding it ; either by 
gluttony, or drunkenness, or by both together; either by 
earthly carefulness, or covetousness, or by both together ; in 
some way, by some effectual means of the prince of the 
power of the air, the ruler of the darkness of this world, the 
prophecies will be so unknown, so disbelieved, so misinter- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 407 

preted or misapplied, that the day of the Lord will come as a 
thief in the night, as a snare upon all them that dwell upon 
the face of the whole earth. The Lord have mercy upon an 
infidel or heathen world! The Lord have mercy upon a 
worldly or slumbering church ! * 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Principal subject — Preparation to meet the Son of man at 

his Coming. 

Ultimate Reason — The World before the Flood — Application — A time of 
general Separation — Illustrations — Two Men in the Field — Two Women 
at the Mill — Renewed Admonition — Illustration of the Unguarded House 
— Application — Illustration of the Master on a Journey — Duties of the 
Servants — The Porter — Application — A Model Servant — The Unan- 
swered Question — The Happy Servant — The Servant Exalted — The Evil 
Servant — His Belief and Conduct — The Reason — Application — The Un- 
expected Return — Reason — Result — Importance of Right Views — The 
Terrible Doom — The Cause — The Contrast — Renewed Admonition — The 
Final Charge — The 25th Chap, of Matthew — Its relation to the 24th — 
Design of the. Parable of the Ten Virgins — Parable of the Talents — Why 
the Description of the Judgment was deferred to the close of the Discourse 
— Conclusion. 

[Luke : Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted 
worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before 
the Son of man.] 

The Lord had previously admonished his disciples to the 
same import. But having for a moment left the thread of his 
exhortation, for the purpose of adding a fact that was well 
calculated to deepen the impression which he desired to pro- 
duce, he now resumes his exhortation to watchfulness and 
prayer. But at this point he assigns the ultimate object of 

* See Note R., in the Appendix. 



408 HAKMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

faithfulness : that we may be accounted worthy to escape the 
predicted evils, and to stand before the Son of man. Here 
several things should impress us : 

1. That watchfulness and prayer are indispensable to a full 
preparation for the day of the Lord. A spirit of devotion and 
sobriety, carried into appropriate practice, is the great essen- 
tial in our present duty. And this should be secured in view 
of the fact, that we are all hastening to meet the day of the 
Lord Jesus. 

2. It is only in this way that we can escape the calamities 
which, at the coming of Christ, shall be visited upon the un- 
prepared. What these will be, the Scriptures have sufficient- 
ly revealed. The previous predictions of Christ, and the 
parables following, set forth these calamities in a manner 
which would almost shake the world, if they had not been so 
generally Jerusalemized away, that they are read with little 
or no impression that they are intended for us, as well as for 
the ancients ; that our destiny is to be thus affected and de- 
termined. Who can calculate the tremendous consequences 
of stripping this portion of the divine word of all its direct, 
literal, and intended bearing upon the millions who are has- 
tening to meet the great day, with almost no conception of 
its nature and reality? 

3. It is by obedience to these directions that we may ex- 
pect, through grace, to stand hefore the Son of man. " The 
ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the 
congregation of the righteous." They shall be " punished 
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be 
glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that be- 
lieve in that day." * This will be the portion of the wicked ; 
and they will not " love his appearing." But the righteous 
shall " stand in the day of Judgment : " they shall receive " a 
crown of righteousness " at " that day." 2 Tim. iv. 8. Then 
the pious dead " shall behold his face in righteousness :" they 
" shall be satisfied when " they " awake in his likeness." Tor 

* 2 Thess. i. 9, 10, leaving out the parenthesis. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 409 

in his presence is fullness of joy ; and at his right hand are 
pleasures for evermore. " "Wherefore, beloved, seeing ye look 
for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in 
peace, without spot and blameless." It is esteemed a great 
privilege to stand before kings ; but it will be a still greater 
to " stand before the Son of man." For when he cometh, he 
will come as " King of kings, and Lord of lords." 

Verse 37. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son 
OF MAN BE. 38. Foe as in those days that were before the flood, they were 

EATING AND DRINKING, MARRYING AND GIVING IN MARRIAGE, UNTIL THE DAY THAT NOE 
ENTERED INTO THE ARK ; 39. AND KNEW NOT UNTIL THE FLOOD CAME AND TOOK THEM 
ALL AWAY J SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE. 

Terrible history ! Terrible prediction ! But the prophecy 
will prove to be as true as the history. The world had been 
duly warned of the threatened deluge ; but they heeded it 
not. They continued to live as they had lived ; contracting 
marriages, celebrating marriages, giving and enjoying festiv- 
ities, until the day that Noe entered into the ark. These things 
are not mentioned by the Saviour, on account of their being 
necessarily wrong ; but to show how little the doomed world 
heeded the warnings of " the preacher of righteousness," or 
anticipated so sad, so sudden and terrible a catastrophe as was 
long impending over them. The reason was, they knew not 
what was about to burst upon them, and forever terminate 
their plans and pleasures. The treasured up wrath that was 
to drown a teeming world gave no outward indications of 
either its nearness or severity. For aught that appears to the 
contrary, the sun that morning rose as smilingly, the winds 
breathed as refreshingly, the waters flowed as peacefully, the 
birds sung as cheerily, the dance led forth as merrily, as ever 
since the birth-day of sin. There were happy bridegrooms 
and brides ; there were proud fathers and mothers ; there 
were rejoicing sisters and brothers ; there were admiring lov- 
ers ; there were jealous rivals ; there were lords in state, and 
servants in waiting; there were rich, counting over their 
treasures ; there were thieves, intent on robbing ; there were 
lecherous, in search of victims. In a word, a world in wick- 



410 HAEMONT AKD EXPOSITION; 

edness ; warned, but heedless ; doomed, but reckless ; rushing 
on to meet its ruin. 

So shall also the coming of the Son of man be. No alarm- 
ing premonitions will arouse the worldly church, or the wick- 
ed world. The day of God will come upon the unexpecting 
world, as a snare upon the unwary game, that knows not its 
danger until it is too late to escape. 

Therefore the wisdom of living always in readiness to meet 
the Lord, lest that day overtake us as a thief ; " Zest, coming 
suddenly, Tie find us sleeping" " Wherefore, gird up the 
loins of your mind, be sober, and hope unto the end, for the 
grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Je- 
sus Christ." 1 Pet. i. 13. 

Verse 40. Then shall two be in the field ; the one shall be taken and the 

OTHER LEFT. 41. TWO WOMEN SHALL BE GRINDING AT THE MILL J THE ONE SHALL 
BE TAKEN, AND THE OTHER LEFT. 

It is utterly impossible for any man to show a single fact, 
or a single reason, for applying this to the Jewish war. Nei- 
ther the connections of the passage, nor its teachings ; neither 
the Jewish historian, nor the circumstances of the case, can 
be legitimately used for that purpose. Besides, this is not 
intended for a few instances, merely ; but such will be the 
general result It will be a time of general separation be- 
tween the most intimate associates, who are of different char- 
acters. Lodging in the same bed, or working at the same 
mill, will not prevent the final separation of the good from 
the bad. 

The good fishes and the bad fishes, the wheat and the tares, 
shall be separated at the end of the world, when the Son of 
man shall come with all his holy angels. (Matt, xiii.) In the 
Roman war, where two were thus associated, one indeed 
might escape, and the other be taken. But, certainly, in such 
a war as that, they would not take one, and leave another. 

But when the Son of man shall come in the glory of the 
Father, he will separate the evil from the good, as a shepherd 
dwideth his sheep from the goats. No difficulty can impede' 
the work of severing the wicked from among the just; for. 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 411 

the eye of Omniscience cannot be deceived by any outward 
show or pretence. 

Verse 42. Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your lord doth 

OOME. 

The evident design of all this part of the Lord's discourse, 
is to incite his people to be always in readiness for the coming 
of the great day. Hence, in various ways, he labors to deep- 
en the impression he would make, returning always, after ev- 
ery illustration, or additional prediction, to the same leading 
theme of watchfulness, that we may be in readiness. Is this 
the present impression of the church ? Is this its present po- 
sition ? If the Lord should come suddenly, as a thief in the 
night, would he find us prepared for it % 

Verse 43. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in 

WHAT WATCH THE THIEF WOULD COME, HE WOULD HAVE WATCHED, AND WOULD NOT 
HAVE SUFFERED HIS HOUSE TO BE BROKEN UP. 

But, alas ! instead of being alwags guarded, and always 
watchful, in an hour when he was not expecting it, the thief 
came upon him, and his house was broken up. He was ruined 
because he was off his guard. The very uncertainty of the 
time of the thief's coming should have kept him in constant 



Verse 44. Therefore, be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, 
the Son of man cometh. 

Do as the poor man, after he is robbed, is convinced he 
should have done. Let the uncertainty of my coming serve 
to keep you in constant readiness. 

[Mark : For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his 
house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and 
commanded the porter to watch.] 

For a season the Lord intends to be absent from the world : 
he leaves his church, but he leaves it in the hands of his ser- 
vants. Each one has his appropriate authority, place, and 
work. The porter has charge of the gate ; the steward has 
charge of the provisions and treasures ; others have authority 



412 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

and work in some other department. All are under obliga- 
tion ; all are responsible ; all are expected to be faithful. 
But the porter receives a special command to watch. The 
Master intends to return ; but when, he does not see fit to re- 
veal. Perhaps he does not at that time know. But return 
he will, at the appropriate time. Therefore let the porter 
keep a constant watch, that he may be prepared to receive 
him at any moment, either by day, or by night. 

Verse 45. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath 

MADE RULER OVER HIS HOUSEHOLD, TO GIVE THEM MEAT IN DUE SEASON? 

Let each ask himself. Who has anything to do in the gov- 
ernment of the church, or in the duty of feeding it with ap- 
propriate food, at appropriate seasons? Certainly the minis- 
ter must apply this to himself. He is the bishop to govern ; 
and the shepherd to feed. Is he then a faithful and wise ser- 
vant ? Is he faithful f Does he conscientiously act in view of 
all his responsibilities ? Does he keep in lively remembrance 
that his Lord will not only return ; but that he may return at 
the moment when he is least expected ? Is he faithful in in- 
structing, admonishing, encouraging? Does he act as in the 
sight of his absent Master ? Is he a wise servant ? Does he 
understand his duty? Does he know how to perform it? 
Does he know when and how to give food to the household 
under his stewardship ? Does he inform himself of the nature 
and design of his Master's departure and return ■? Does he 
act wisely in his wish and labor to secure his Master's com- 
mendation ? 

These are questions for each one to answer for himself. 
The Lord does not answer them ; he simply proposes them. 
How stands the matter, reader ? These are things to be duly 
considered. 

Verse 46. Blessed is that servant whom ms lord, when he cometh, shall 

FIND SO DOING. 

Yea, blessed indeed ; for his Lord cometh quickly, and his 
reward is with him. To be found of him in peace at his com- 
ing, will insure everlasting happiness. Faithfulness and hap- 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 413 

piness will be as inseparably connected, as negligence and 
wretchedness. When the Master returneth may he find us so 
doing ! 

Verse 47. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler overall his 

goods. 

Those who improve their talents shall have additional ones 
given them, when the time of reckoning comes. Those who 
suffer with Christ shall finally reign with him. Those who 
are faithful in few things shall be made ruler over many 
things. The Master intends fully to reward his faithful ser- 
vants ; and if he exalts them to palaces and thrones, he has a 
right to do so ; for he has a right to do what he pleases with 
his own. Be encouraged, then, ye faithful and wise servants, 
for the Master will soon return, and bless you in your labors 
to please him. 

Verse 48. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord 
delayeth his coming ; 49. And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and 
to eat and drink with the drunken. 

No one will be as likely to say openly, My Lord delayeth 
his coming ; the evil servant will say it in his heart. Learn, 
hence, a distinguishing trait in the character of an evil ser- 
vant : there is so little evidence that the Lord will delay his 
coming ; or, rather, as there is no evidence, he will not choose 
to say so openly, lest he be reproved. But still he is an un- 
believer in the nearness of the time : * he says, in his heart, 
My Lord delayeth his coming. Learn, also, that it will not 
be infidels, only, who will be taken unawares : this evil ser- 
vant did not scoff, and say, Where is the promise of his 
coming ? 

He was a believer, perhaps a firm believer, in his lord's re- 
turn. He did not, in respect to the great fact of his lord's 
coming, differ essentially from the good servants : he disagreed 
with them only on one point : the good servant said — said 
openly — My lord is coming, is coming soon : he may come 

* Our Lord evidently has reference in this part of his discourse to the state 
of things that will immediately precede his advent. See verses 37-39. 



414 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

immediately* The evil servant said, said in his heart, My 
lord ddayeth his coming. 

Learn, also, the natural tendency of this saying in one's 
heart, My Lord delay eth his coming. (1.) He will begin to 
smite his fellow servants. He will be apt to become a tyrant 
in his Master's house. He will be likely to have ill feelings 
towards his brethren, and he will be apt to act them out / he 
will smite his fellow servants.* 

Our Lord must have meant somethiug in all this ; and he 
undoubtedly meant to describe the facts and tendencies that 
will characterise the times which immediately precede his 
advent. Would there be so much discord and bitterness 
among brethren ? Would there be so much impatience of 
contradiction, and so much disposition to personal revenge, 
if we believed the Judge was at the door, to punish and to re- 
ward ? How appropriate the apostle's advice ! " Therefore, 
judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will 
bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make 
manifest the counsels of the hearts ; and then shall every man 
have praise of God." 1 Cor. 4, 5. Would there be so much 
oppression, either in, or out of the church ; in either estab- 
lished or dissenting churches, if, conceptually, we beheld the 
Lord at hand ? 

There is a great deal implied in the evil servant's smiting 
his fellow servants, under the impression that his lord delayed 
his return. 

Another tendency of this conviction is, (2.) luxury and 
dissipation. He will be likely to eat and drink with the 
drunken. All the designed tendencies of the uncertainty of 
his Lord's return, are lost upon this evil servant ; and, self- 
persuaded that his Master is not at hand ; saying it to him- 
self, as he practices his wickedness, he gives himself up to 
feasting and carousal. Had he supposed his Master was at 
hand, he would have acted very differently ; but, under the 
influence of his belief, he conducts as he is represented. 
Would there be as much luxury in the church ? Would there 

* The reader must judge for himself whether the inferences are warranted 
by the Lord's illustration. There is no design to " 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 415 

be as much dissipation and levity f Would it be so hard to 
collect a few shillings from our fashionable or covetous Chris- 
tians, for the purpose of doing a little more, or a great deal 
more good,* if all men were under the influence of the convic- 
tion, My Master, to whom I am accountable, is at hand ? 

Verse 50. The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh 

NOT FOR HTM, AND IN AN HOUR THAT HE IS NOT AWARE OF. 

Here we have still further light with respect both to the 
nature and manner of the second advent : it will not be a 
gradual diffusion of gospel light and happiness ; it will be a 
sudden and — to persons of the character here described — • 
an unexpected and terrible coming. The evil servant will be 
among those who shall " wail because of him," when they be- 
hold him coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and 
great glory. There is a peculiar significancy and importance 
in St. Paul's words, (Heb. ix. 28,) " And unto them that look 
for him, shall he appear the second time, without sin [sin-of- 
fering] unto salvation." This evil servant — representing a 
class — a large class — of professors — was not looking for the 
return of his master ; so that he came to him very unexpect- 
edly, not to save him, it seems, but to destroy. The coming 
of his master was not to this servant a matter of hope, but 
of surprise, and confusion. He was not looking for him : he 
was saying to the very last moment, My lord delayeth his 
coming. 

Now true believers are represented as being of a very differ- 
ent character, with respect both to their conduct and faith. 
And the difference of their conduct arises from the difference 
of their faith. Hence St. Paul speaks of believers in gen- 
eral, (Titus ii. 12, 13,) " Denying ungodliness, and worldly 
lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this 
present world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious 
appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ ."f 

Learn from the subject, as now presented, that it is not a 

* See Note S, in the Appendix. 

f The appearing of God and Christ in connection is represented in the vis 
ion of Daniel, vii. 9-14. 



416 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

matter of insignificance how we believe respecting the time 
and manner of the Lord's coming. 

Verse 51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the 

HYPOCRITES ; THERE SHALL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH. 

Here is the sad result of impropriety of conduct from im- 
propriety of belief. Had this man believed right, there is reason 
to suppose he would have acted right. But, alas, the coming 
in which he professed to believe, but for which he was not 
looking, was to him a coming of wrath and ruin. He is to be 
" cut asunder " — terribly destroyed by a punishment of un- 
surpassed severity : limb cut from limb ; head cut from body ; 
body cut in two. And then — after being cut asunder — his 
portion is to be with the hypocrites : with those who pretended 
to believe, and to be, what they did not believe, nor become. 
This illustrates the Lord's teaching elsewhere. Luke xii. 4, 5 : 
" And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that 
kill the body, and, after that, have no more that they can do. 
But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear : Fear him, which, 
after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell ; yea, I say 
unto you, Fear him." 

That state of punishment will be a state of consciousness 
and great anguish : " there shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth." Anything but happiness is expressed in this terrible 
description. Whatever it may indicate, it is certainly some- 
thing to be earnestly deprecated and avoided. This, it should 
be remembered, will take place at the return of the servant's 
master. And in very many places in the Scriptures, the sec- 
ond coming of the Lord is thus represented as a time of great 
calamity to those who are not found prepared. It will be the 
time of " gathering out of his kingdom all things that offend, 
and them which do iniquity ; " that they may be cast " into 
a furnace of fire, where shall be wailing and gnashing of 
teeth." "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in 
the kingdom of their Father." See Matt. xiii. 36-43. 

The same period is alluded to in Luke xiii. 28. "There 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see 
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 417 

kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they 
shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the 
north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom 
of God." 

From the whole representation thus far, learn the evil ten- 
dency, and — if yielded to — the evil consequences, of saying 
in the heart, My Lord delayeth his coming. 

[Mark: Watch ye, therefore, for ye know not when the master of the housk 
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning. 
Lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.] 

The relevancy and importance of this admonition, are too 
evident to need extended remarks. The uncertainty of the 
Lord's return, and the suddenness of it, are here assigned as 
the reasons for constant watching and preparation. 

[Mark : And what I say unto YOU. I, say unto ALL, WATCH.] 

Here is the single exhortation, for the illustration and en- 
forcement of which, the previous parable was used. From 
the certainty of the Lord's second coming, from its connection 
with the decisions of final destiny, from the suddenness of the 
coming, from the uncertainty with respect to the time, there 
arises the great leading duty of watching. 

And this is a general duty : it belongs to all people, and to 
all times : " What I say unto you, I say unto all, WATCH." 
" Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, 
shall find so doing ! " 

An impression appears to have obtained, that the Lord's 
discourse ended with the twenty-fourth chapter. But it is 
evident that what is recorded in the twenty-fifth chapter was 
spoken at the same time. The reader need not be reminded, 
perhaps, that no importance whatever should be attached to 
the division of the discourse into chapters, for this is wholly 
a human and a modern work : originally the whole discourse 
stood just as it would now stand, if it was all included in a 
single chapter. 

The first word, Then, of the twenty-fifth chapter shows 
this connection quite apparently. But the whole reliance, 
27 



418 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

however, is not placed in the initiatory word ; it is evident from 
the whole chapter that it was spoken at the same time as the 
former. 

The parable of the wise and the foolish virgins was designed 
more particularly to apply the illustrations and admonitions 
which had been already given to the coming of the Lord. 
This not only appears from the nature and connection of the 
parable, but from the conclusion of it, verse 13 : " Watch, 
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the horn* wherein 
the Son of man cometh." 

In this parable, as one principal truth, we learn that apart 
(in the parable it is one-half) of those who are professedly 
waiting for the coming of the Bridegroom, will, after all, he 
found unprepared to meet him j and will not he admitted to 
the marriage supper of the Lamb. See Rev. xix. 7-9. In 
the parable of the servants and the talents we have the same 
general truth illustrated, in connection with the final result of 
faithfulness and unfaithfulness, at the time of the Lord's re- 
turn from his journey into the " far country." The faithful is 
then made " ruler over many things ; " he then enters " into the 
joy of" his Lord. The unfaithful, who, at his Lord's "com- 
ing," (verse 27,) could not render a good account of his con- 
duct, is then cast into outer darkness, where there shall be 
weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

From verse 31 to the end of the chapter, we have the 
closing up of the whole discourse, where our Lord takes occa- 
sion to explain still further the nature and results of his com- 
ing. It will be the time of general judgment to the nations 
then occupying the earth ; and the time of admitting the 
saints into the heavenly kingdom. Verse 34. Christ will 
then appear in his character as King (verse 34) to judge, (32) 
to punish, and reward (40, 46.) 

In the former part of the discourse, where his endeavor 
was to proceed through from beginning to end, with strict 
reference to the chronological order, it was not deemed expe- 
dient to interrupt the prophetic narrative by the details of the 
judgment. So, not to leave so important a matter out of the 
discourse, and, also, to identify the time and the event so that 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 419 

the readers of the Old Testament prophecies might not be at 
a loss to understand the matter, he here dwells more particu- 
larly on the judgment which shall take place at his coming, 
and the eternal destinies which shall be decided. In this 
manner, the Lord clearly identifies his second advent with the 
coming and judgment predicted by Daniel, Zachariah, Joel, 
Isaiah, &c. These prophecies have already been sufficiently 
explained in former chapters of this Exposition. And the 
reader will perceive that the theory of interpretation adopted 
in this work, besides being a rigidly literal and easily under- 
stood theory, not only harmonizes all the different parts of the 
Lord's discourse at this time, but many of the parables and 
predictions which he delivered at other times. And, besides, 
it harmonizes the prophecies in other parts of the Old and 
"New Testaments, which, in many instances, have bewildered 
expositors, and been regarded as being wholly inexplicable 
to the common reader. 

Without trying to reconcile the learned and excellent Dr. 
Clarke with himself, the author takes the liberty of closing 
this Exposition by quoting the Doctor's very judicious and 
impressive observations on the parable of the servants whom 
the master left in the care of his house, when he journeyed 
into "a far country." See Mark xiii. 34-36, and Matt, 
xxiv. 45-51. 

" Our Lord shows us in this parable, 1. That himself, as- 
cended to heaven, is the man gone from home. 2. That 
believers collectively are his family. 3. That his servants are 
those who are employed in the work of faith and labor of 
love. 4. That the porter represents the ministers of the gos- 
pel, who should continually watch for the safety and welfare 
of the whole flock. 5. That every one has his own work, — 
that which belongs to himself, and to none other ; and for the 
accomplishment of which, he receives sufficient strength from 
his Lord. 6. That these servants and porters shall give an 
account to their Lord, how they have exercised themselves in 
their respective departments. 7. And that as the Master of 
the family will certainly come to require this account at a 
time when men are not aware, therefore they should be always 



420 



HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



watchful and faithful. And, 8. That this is a duty incum- 
bent on every soul of man: What I say unto you, I say unto 
all, "Watch ! If after all these warnings, the followers of 
God be found careless, their misery and condemnation must 
be great." 



APPENDIX I. 

CONTAINING THE PRINCIPAL NOTES REFERRED TO IN THE 
EXPOSITION. 



NOTE A. (Page 81.) 
This Harmony "was prepared, and submitted to the inspection of several 
persons, several months previously to the publication of the excellent " Har- 
mony and Exposition " of Mr. James Strong, A. M. The fact is mentioned here 
for the purpose of noting the singular coincidence of two writers, entirely 
unknown to each other, being at the same time engaged in preparing an ori- 
ginal Harmony on substantially the same principle. The works do not wholly 
agree in the arrangement of the verses of the portion treated in this book ; 
nor are they similar in the method of exhibiting the references to other parts 
of the Scriptures. But in the plan of combining the several records, so as to 
present at one view all that the different evangelists have recorded on each 
distinct subject, the reader will find a substantial agreement. 

NOTE B. (Page 82.) 
Since writing this part of the Exposition, the following proof of what was 
merely supposed from the words of Christ, has come to view. It refers di- 
rectly to the coming of Impostors in the name of Christ. Euseb. Eccl. Hist, B. 
3, c. 26. " Menander, who succeeded Simon Magus, exhibited himself in his 
conduct an -instrument of diabolical wickedness, not inferior to the former. 
He also was a Samaritan ; and having made no less progress in his imposture 
than his master, reveled in still more arrogant pretensions to miracles ; say- 
ing that he was in truth the Saviour once sent from the invisible worlds for the 
salvation of men." The historian adds, " This account may be easily confirm- 
ed from Irenius." 

NOTE C. (Page 159.) 
St Peter, speaking of these very characters that endeavored to corrupt the 
church, says, (2 Pet. ii. 18,) "For when they speak great swelling words of 
vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, 
those that were clean escaped from them who live in error." 

NOTE D. (Page 235.) 
Since the foregoing was written, the author has providentially met with an 
old Treatise on Prophecy, by Rev. Joseph Towers, LL. D., which very unex- 



422 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

pectedly sustains the view of the subject maintained in this Treatise. And, 
what is not a little remarkable, Dr. Towers, to some extent, adopts the very- 
system of interpretation which this Treatise opposes. 

.Referring to the passage under notice, he says, (vol. 2, p. 40,) " But I shall 
be asked, does this most illustrious of the prophets himself specify any time; 
and, if specified, does it correspond with what has before been gathered from 
Daniel and from John ? I answer, that it perfectly does. The sun shall be 
darkened, says our Lord, immediately after the tribulation of those days. Now 
what are those days, and when do they terminate.? The incomparable Mr. 
Mede, (I use the epithet of Bishops Hurd and Halifax,) in speaking of the 
Jews and of this passage, says, ' This great tribulation, such as never nation 
suffered, is not to be confined to their calamity at the destruction of Jerusalem, but 
extends to the whole time of their captivity and dispersion from that time unto 
this present not yet ended.' To the same purpose speaks that eminent Dutch 
divine, Episcopius, in his commentary on Matthew ; and in like manner Arch- 
bishop Ttllotson has observed, that the prophecy of Jesus respecting the suf- 
ferings of his countrymen, 'comprehends from the destruction of Jerusalem all 
the time of the captivity of the Jews among the Gentiles, which we see is not yet 
expired; and that when it is said, the sun shall be darkened, <fcc, after the trib- 
ulation of those days, the meaning is, this shall happen 'when God hath made 
an end of punishing the nation of the Jews.'" "It has also been thought," 
continues Dr. Tower, "that these words relate not to the descendents of 
Abraham alone. The expression, 'the tribulation of those days,' says Matthew 
Henry, 'includes not only the destruction of Jerusalem, but all the other trib- 
ulation which the Church must pass through ; and thus it is to be extended as 
well to the Christians as to the Jews. That it is to be applied to the suffer- 
ings of the Christian Church, was the decided opinion of Vitringa. Such like- 
wise was the sentiment of Theophvlact, and of Chrtsostom." "From the 
21st chapter of Luke we learn," continues Dr. Tower, "that 'the tribulation 
of those days ' has a very extensive meaning ; and that it especially signifies the 
treading down of Jerusalem and Judea by the Gentiles, which shall not termi- 
nate till the times of the Gentiles are accomplished ; for such is the import 
of his words." " From a comparison of these two passages in Matthew and in 
Luke," repeats Dr. Tower, "it appears evident, that 'the tribulation of those 
days ' mentioned by the former of these apostolic writers, reaches through the 
whole period during which Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles.'' " 
A note in the volume from which the foregoing extracts have been taken, 
reads thus — "Some interpreters," says Calvin, "rashly understand 'the trib- 
ulation of those days' as relating to the destruction of Jerusalem alone." 

NOTE E. . (Page 246.) 

Mr. Lowth, in treating of the 38th and 39th chapters of Ezekial, says, "The 
prohecy contained in this and the following chapter, concerning Israel's vic- 
tory over Gog and Magog, without question relates to the latter ages of the world, 
when the whole house of Israel shall return into their own land." 

Dr. Tower remarks,* referring to the "incomparable Mede," "That the Gog 
and Magog of the Apocalypse cannot be understood of the Gog and Magog of 



APPENDIX. 423 

Ezekiel, this sagacious commentator has remarked; and I regard his observa- 
tion as indubitable." 

NOTE F. (Page .) 
"The sea and ilie waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear," <fcc. 
Many of Israel's enemies will doubtless invade Palestine from the sea. Hostile 
fleets will swarm with the invading armies. The judgments that convulse 
the earth and heavens will dreadfully affect the sea : it will be roused into 
terrible commotion, and its waves roar with horrid tumult. The invaders, 
terrified and distressed upon the land, will naturally turn to the sea, to fly 
from the terrors on shore. But they cannot escape by the sea.: the divine 
fury is as visible there as in the shaking heavens. Truly will they be in 
"perplexity," with their "hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after 
those things which are coming on the earth." 

NOTE G. (Page 278.) 

To those who have not personally examined the subject, this may seem to 
conflict with the Scriptures ; for, certainly, there is much said in the Scrip- 
tures, respecting the doings of Christ, which does not appear to be a work of 
grace. He is spoken of as ruling with a rod of iron, and dashing in pieces as a 
potter's vessel ; as taking vengeance on his enemies; as being angry with the 
nations, while they call for the mountains to hide them from the wrath of the 
Lamb. These portions of the Scriptures appear to have led even our orthodox 
commentators into the inconsistent method of interpreting Christ's prophecy 
in the way herein objected to. And it is truly surprising that divines so 
able as Newton, "Watson, Lightfoot, Clarke, Benson, Barnes, &c, &c, should 
have failed to perceive that such passages of Scripture applied to the dpings 
of Christ, in the gospel dispensation, are not only diametrically opposed to 
the essential character of the Mediatorial office, but are not in any sense war- 
ranted by the language of the Scriptures. 

It will be found that such language, when applied to Christ in the Bible, is 
prophetic : revealing — not what he is now doing — but what he will do. And 
the context of such passages will sufficiently show that the fulfillment of these 
prophecies belongs to the succeeding dispensation, which will be ushered in 
by the Second Advent. Take, for example, the passage in Rev. ii. 27. "And 
he shall rule them [the nations] with a rod of iron ; as the vessel of a potter 
shall they be broken to shivers ; even as I received of my Father" This text, 
let it be observed, is addressed by Christ to his servants who prove fait!*£H 
unto the end ; and it promises them a part with him in the government of the 
world — even in the judgment and violent destruction of the natiq/s, when 
they shall be broken to shivers as an earthen vessel. This doctrine is dis- 
tinctly taught in other places : e. g., 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. "Do ye not know that 
the saints shall judge the world ? And if the world shall be judged by you, 
are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters." In relation to the time when 
this shall be fulfilled, it is always spoken of as yet to come ; and is usually — . 
if not always — identified with the period of the Second Advent. The pas- 
sage already quoted from Revelation shows this : " But that - 1 ' 



424: HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

already, hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works 
unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations ; and he shall rule them 
with a rod of iron," <fcc. Now, no one, having this thought about him, will 
contend that this has been, or will be, fulfilled in the gospel dispensation. 
The very same rule of the saints is clearly predicted, both in relation to the 
fact and the time, in Dan., 7th chapter. In the vision therein related, we are 
expressly informed that it reached forward to the judgment : Verse 9. " I 
beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit. . . . 
10. Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten 
thousand stood before him : the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 
13. I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with 
the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him 
near before him. 14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a 
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him : his do- 
minion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his king- 
dom, that which shall not be destroyed." 

In the interpretation of the vision which Daniel obtained, he was informed, 
verse 18, "But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and pos- 
sess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever." It is at this time, doubt- 
less, when " the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom," that the 
prediction in Revelation, and the declaration of Paul in Corinthians shall be 
fulfilled. Daniel goes on to tell the exact time when the event shall be ac- 
complished: Verse 21. " I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, 
and prevailed against them : 22. Until the Ancient of Days came, and judg- 
ment WAS GIVEN TO THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HlGH ; AND THE TIME CAME THAT THE 

Saints possessed the kingdom." A still further interpretation of the matter in- 
formed the prophet, that, verse 25, " He [the little horn] shall speak against 
the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to 
change times and laws ; and they shall be given into his hand until a time, 
and times, and the dividing of time. 26. But the judgment shall sit, and 

THEY SHALL TAKE AWAY HIS DOMINION, TO CONSUME AND TO DESTROY IT UNTO THE END. 

27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, 
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and 
obey him." This sufficiently indicates the time when the afore quoted pre- 
dictions of the saints, with Christ, judging the world, and ruling with a rod 
of iron. 

The second Psalm is of the same nature, and appears to relate to the very 
same event and time : The Father, speaking to the Son, says, verse 8, " Ask 
of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utter- 
most parts of the earth for thy possession. 9. Thou shalt break them with a 
rod of iron ; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." It is evident, 
however, from the context, as well as the text itself, that it is yet future : the 
time has not yet come for him to receive the inheritance, to treat it in this vi- 
olent manner ; and the time has not yet come for him to deal with the nations 
in wrath. Hence — during the time of grace — the rebellious kings and judges 
of the earth are exhorted to (verse 12,) " Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye 



AprENDix. . 425 

perish from the way, [as before described,] when his wrath is kindled but a 
little." 

Rev. xii. 5, contains another prediction, of the same nature, which the con- 
text shows will not be fulfilled until after the expiration of the " thousand, 
two hundred, and three score days." Rev. xix. 15, is another example, which 
the connections clearly show is not to be fulfilled until the destruction of the 
Beast and the False Prophet at the great battle of Gog and Magog. Then 
appears upon the scene " The Word of God," as " King of kings, and Lord of 
lords;" verse 14: "And the armies in heaven followed him upon white 
horses,* clothed in fine 1! len, white and clean. 15. And out of his mouth 
goeth a sharp sword, f tl at with it he should smite the nations : and he shall 
rule them with a rod of L-jn : and he treadeth the wine press of the fierceness 
and wrath of Almighty God." Rev. xi. 18, speaks also in another form of 
the same time of wrath ; but the connections show that it does not belong to 
the mediatorial dispensation: verse 15: "And the seventh angel sounded ; 
and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world 
are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall reign 
forever and ever. 16. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God 
on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17. Saying, We 
give thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come ; 
because thou has taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. 18. And the 
nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they 
should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the proph- 
ets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great ; and 
shouldest destroy them which destroyed the earth" Rev. vi. 16, also speaks of 
the wrath of Christ ; but it does not belong to the dispensation of mediation ; 
it will occur at the very same time that Christ predicted his own coming, in 
the 80th verse of the chapter treated in this Exposition : viz, just after the 
shaking of the heavens. Verse 12 : "And I beheld when he had opened the 
sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake ; and the sun became black as 
sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood : Verse 13. And the stars of 
heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when 
she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14. And the heavens departed as a scroll 
when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out 
their places. 15. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich 
men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and 
every free man % hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains : 
16. And said to the mountains and rocks,§ Fall on us, and hide us from the face 
of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 11. 
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" 

This is the time that the sign of the Son of man shall appear in heaven, and 

* They were so represented in the vision. 

t So it was represented in the vision. 

\ This particularizes what Christ generalized by the expression, " all tribes of the earth shall 
mourn." 

§ They would be among the rocks, dens, and mountains of Palestine — See chap, ix., from sec- 
tion 17, and onward, of this Exposition. 



426 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

all the tribes of the earth shall mourn as they see iiim COMING in the clouds 
of heaven "with power and great GLORY. They will know that the day of 
salvation is past: he does not appear as the Mediator to intercede for them; 
he conies to judge and punish. Then — and not before — can it be truly said, 
"The great day of his wrath is come." Now, as God had saved men, by Christ 
Jesus ; so, now, " God shall judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom 
he hath ordained." Acts xvii. 31. 

Now, the day of mediation ended, comes the day of wrath, and revelation 
of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to 
his deeds. Unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but 
obey unrighteousness, he will render indignation and wrath, tribulation and 
anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil : of tlie Jew first, and also of 
the Gentile. "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, by Jesus 
Christ, according to my Gospel ! " See Romans, chapter ii. 

Christ is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high, appearing in the 
presence of God as our interceding High Priest, ever living to make interces- 
sion for us. There he will remain, in the same mediatorial office, until the fin- 
ishing up of the mediatorial dispensation ; for the heavens must receive him 

UNTIL THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS WHICH GOD HATH SPOKEN BY THE 
MOUTH OF ALL HIS HOLY PROPHETS, SINCE THE WORLD BEGAN. Acts iii. 21. 

When the mediatorial dispensation and work are completed, and the Son 
gives back the mediatorial kingdom to God the Father, having completed his 
mediation; then, the dispensation of grace being finished, and the judgment 
day having come, — then, 2 Thess. i. 7 ; "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
from heaven, with his mighty angels, 8. In flaming fire; taking ven- 
geance on them that know not God, nor obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ; 9. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from 
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10. When he 

SHALL COME TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS, AND TO BE ADMIRED IN ALL THEM THAT 

believe in that day." Thus it is that in all the places in the Scripture, where 
wrath, vengeance, and destructive judgments, are attributed to the Lord Jesus 
Christ, it is always in connection with the judgment dispensation, and not 
during the mediatorial. The heavens must receive him — as the High Priest 
within the vaiL before the mercy -seat — until those times (plural) of restitution 
•which the prophets have predicted ; such as David and Daniel had foretold, as 
we have already noticed. Then comes the restitution, or regeneration, of this 
world, when God shall make all things new. Until then, the ofiice of the Son 
of God is such, that it is palpably inconsistent to attribute to him the ven 
geance and desolation that destroyed the Jewish people. But, when these 
times of restitution arrive, then will arrive the time when Christ shall judge 
the world, ruling the wicked with a rod of iron, and the saints shall rule with 
him. Then will come the time when the wicked shall be destroyed, and the 
righteous Judge shall give the crown to all them that love his appearing. 
To this day the apostles were directed to look for their reward,* as Christ 
himself has taught ; Matt, xix 27 : "Then answered Peter, f and said unto him, 

*Eev. xu 18, and many other passages in other portions of the Bible. 
tRead the context from verse 28. 



APPEKDIX. 427 

Behold, we have left all, and followed thee ; what shall we have therefore ? 
28. And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have 
followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of 
his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 
How plainly the Bible identifies the time when Christ shall begin to judge 
the world, and to destroy the wicked ! How plainly does it teach that this 
belongs to another dispensation ! What must we think of the doctrine that 
Christ judges with destructive vengeance now? 

NOTE H. (Page 293.) 

To the objection, that no sign in the heavens could be seen, at the same 
time, by "all the tribes of the earth," it may be replied: True, perhaps, if 
the tribes are all scattered abroad in every part of the earth, as at the present 
time. But what if " all the tribes of the earth," in the scriptural use of that 
expression, should be assembled in some particular region of the earth ? By 
the scriptural use of the expression, and others implying about the same thing, 
we do not usually understand every individual of all the tribes : but we re- 
gard them as general expressions, denoting a very great multitude ; and, in 
cases like the one in the text, a very great variety. 

Now, it is worthy of especial notice, that the Scriptures have in several 
places represented that at the very time which, in this Treatise, it is main- 
tained that this prediction will be fulfilled, there will a gathering of all na- 
tions which, of course, must include " all tribes," for nation is the more ex- 
tensive term. In the representation of the mighty gathering of Gog and 
Magog, the idea is conveyed throughout that it is to be a general assembly of 
the nations of the earth. See below, Rev. xx. 8. Hence, when the Lord ob- 
tains the victory over them, "he will be known in the sight of many nations.*' 
Ezek. xxxviii. 23. The same expression is elsewhere used in relation to the 
same gathering. So in Rev. xvi. 14, in the great gathering in the place cal- 
led Armageddon, all the world is represented as being assembled : " For they 
are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of 
the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of 
God Almighty" Rev. xx. 8 : "And shall go out to deceive the nations which 
are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them to bat- 
tle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." In Zech. xiv., we have 
the same thing revealed; Verse 1. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, — and 
thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2. For I will gather all 

nations against Jerusalem to battle 3. Then the Lord shall go 

forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 

. . . . 5. And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with 
thee." (See also Jude, verse 14, as identifying the time.) Zech. xif. 9: "And 
it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations 
that come against Jerusalem." Verse 3 : " And in that day will I make Jeru- 
salem a burdensome stone for all people : all that burden themselves with it 
shall he cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered togeth- 
er against rr." This is precisely the idea taught in Joel iii., which has been 
proved to refer to the very time the Lord is now speaking of. Verse 1 : " For 



42 S HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

behold, IN THOSE DAYS, AND AT THAT TIME, WHEN I SHALL BRING AGAIN THE CAPTTV* 

rry of Judah and Jerusalem,* 2. I will also gather all nations, and will 
bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them 
there for my people," &c. Verse 14: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley 
of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15. 
The sun shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining." 
These many (and these are not all) examples of the scriptural use of the term 
" all tribes of the earth," or of other terms conveying the same idea, prove 
two very important things : First, that at some future time there will be a 
" gathering " of " all the heathen," " all the nations," " all the world," "the 
nations that are in the four quarters of the earth," &c. ; — And, secondly, 
that this will occur at precisely the time, as taught in this Treatise, of which 
the Lord was speaking in this part of his prophecy. 

What becomes of the objection, then, that " all the tribes of the earth," — 
as the Scriptures use the term, or its equivalents in respect to this very occur- 
rence — cannot witness the sign in the heavens, at the same moment of time? 

There is another thought: who knows but this luminous sign may be elec- 
trical in its nature, and, of consequence, instantaneous in its passage from 
place to place ? Is not this more than intimated by our Saviour himself? 

11 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, 

SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE." 

But whether the objection is answered or not, there is an answer that must 
suffice: Christ has distinctly affirmed that "all the tribes of the earth" shall 
witness his coming. Any objection to the expression is an objection to the 
fact it declares. Let us be careful that we do not cavil at the words of Infi- 
nite Wisdom. 

N"OTE I. (Page 298.) 

As the last three chapters of Zechariah have been designated as describing 
clearly the times of this great mourning, and identifying it with the final 
conflict and deliverance of Israel, it may be necessary to say a few words by 
way of explaining such portions of the chapters designated as do not so 
clearly refer to that time. Chap. xiii. 7-9 is clearly a reference to the betrayal 
and death of Christ, suggested as the explanation of the previous references to 
their looking upon him whom they had pieced, and the reference to the wounds 
in the hands, which betoken the fact of his having been nailed to the cross. 
This suggested explanation of terms that were used in reference to the final 
mourning, it will be observed, is followed by a brief, comprehensive state- 
ment of the calamities of that people down to the time of which he was then 
formally discussing: to the time when — after all their wickedness and 
wretchedness — they should call on the name of the Lord, and God would 
hear them, and would say to them, "It is my people ; " and they should say, 
"The Lord is my God." 

Then chap. xiv. 1, comes in with the more particular description of the day 
and occasion: "Behold, the da}^ of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be 
divided in the midst of thee. 2. For I will gather all nations against Jerusa- 

* That is, when he brings hack the captives. 



APPENDIX. 429 

lem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the honses rifled, and the wo- 
men ravished ; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the 
residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city." This evidently al- 
ludes to the^rs^ stages of the great conflict, before the Deliverer comes. At 
first the multitude of enemies will prevail, and the Jews will despair of de- 
liverance. This will make their salvation by divine interposition more con- 
spicuous and remarkable, as God hath usually ordered it in his merciful 
interpositions. Then, as the next verse shows, will be the time for the Lord 
to come for the salvation of his people. Yerse 3 : " Then shall the Lord go 
forth, and fight against these nations, as when he f ought in the day of battle. 
4. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is 
before Jerusalem on the east,* and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the 
midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very 
great valley ; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and 
half of it toward the south. 5. And ye shall flee to the valley of the moun- 
tains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal : yea, ye shall flee 
like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Ju- 
dah ; and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee." Then 
follows — to the end of the book — a description of the permanent, (verse 11) 
salvation of Israel, and the holiness (verse 20) which shall forever characterize 
them as they dwell in their own land, their enemies being either destroyed 
(verses 12-15) or converted, (verses 16-19.) Those who venture to interpret 
this as anything that has yet occurred, and those who explain it away to 
mean almost anything that may be guessed at or fancied, in order to avoid 
the literal understanding of it, assume a responsibility which they may here- 
after regret. 

NOTE J. (Page 304.) 

The return to the subject of his coming was evidently designed by our Lord 
for the purpose of describing the event more fully, and especially to speak of it 
in connection with the judgment which should follow ; for he is to "judge the 
quick and the dead at his appearing and his Jcingdoin." 2 Tim. iv. 1. 

The plan of his discourse appears to have been formed to answer the inqui- 
ries which occasioned it. But these inquiries do not seem to have had any par- 
ticular reference to the judgment which should immediately follow, or attend, 
his coming. After going through the prophetic history, in exact chronologi- 
cal order, and bringing the subject down to the sign of his coming and of the 
end of the world, he saw proper then to speak of gathering together his elect; 
and then to suspend the regular order of the discourse, for the purpose of giv- 
ing appropriate admonitions and illustrations, having special respect to the 
necessity of being always prepared for his coming. These occupy the conclu- 
ding part of the 24th chapter, and the whole of the 25th, down to the 80th 
verse. In suspending the regular prophetic narrative, he left some things 
unsaid, and some things unexplained. In the 31st verse of the 25th chapter 

* How particular the prediction ! Who will venture to explain it all away by metaphorical 
interpretations? 



4:30 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

he resumes the subject of his advent, to say what he did not say before, (though 
it was of necessity implied,) that the angels would come with him. This was 
of necessity implied in the 31st verse of the 24th chapter, where he speaka of 
sending his angels to gather together his elect. With this further statement 
by himself, his great discourse is made to harmonize with his own declarations 
at other times, and with the predictions of the prophets that were before him. 
But the same prophets who had spoken of the coming of the angels with him, 
and of the elect being gathered, had also spoken of the gathering together of 
" all nations," for the purpose of being judged and destroyed. This Christ 
had not previously mentioned in this discourse ; and he resumes the general 
subject for the evident purpose of finishing what he knew was left unfinished, 
by leaving the thread of the discourse in order to give the appropriate admo- 
nitions and illustrations. In this way, in connection with practical instruc- 
tions, he made his prophecy to correspond with the predictions which refer 
to the same event in the Scriptures which he was accustomed to read. It 
may have occurred to the reader, however, to notice the entire omission of 
any direct reference to the kingdom which the prophets have spoken of in 
connection with the coming of the Lord with his holy angels. "Well, now, 
this very omission of direct reference to the kingdom is, in fact, a strong con- 
firmation that he was speaking of the same time and events. And this will 
appear from the manner in which he does refer to the kingdom, as a mat- 
ter well understood, and needing no direct statement. Let the reader now turn 
to the closing up of the discourse, in chap. xxv. 31. This verse speaks of his 
coming in glory, with all his holy angels with him, and corresponds with the de- 
scription of his coming in Dan. vii. 13: "I saw in the night visions, and, 
behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the 
Ancient of days, [described verses 9, 10,] and they brought him near before 
him." 

Now, observe, he did not come as a king : he came as the Son of man. And 
they brought him near before the Ancient of days, for the purpose, as it appears 
from what followed, of inaugurating him in the kingdom ; which was done in 
the presence, and by the ministry of, the innumerable angels, as appears from 
the context. Now, notice what follows, as the result and proof of this inau- 
guration : Verse 14 : " And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a 
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his domin- 
ion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, 
that [kingdom] which shall not be destroyed." Now it is certain that this does 
not relate to his mediatorial kingdom, for two reasons : 1. The context shows 
that the whole transaction is future, and relates to the judgment 2. All will 
agree that the mediatorial kingdom will pass away : that it will last only du- 
ring the present dispensation of grace. 

We have, then, this remarkable fact, that the vision of Daniel (chapter vii.) 
relates to the inauguration of the Lord Jesus into his everlasting kingdom I 
And we have also another fact, — that he first came, as the Son of man, in the 
clouds of heaven, to the Ancient of days, and was then with great solemnity 
and glory, (verses 9, 10,) formally inducted into office as King of the dominion 
then given to him. Consequently, after that, his revelation to the world would 



APPENDIX. 431 

be in his kingly office and glory. Let the reader now particularly notice how 
perfectly our Lord's discourse conforms to this order, and proceeds upon the 
supposition that the principal facts would be understood without a direct 
statement of them. 

First. (Chap. xxiv. 30.) The sign of the Son of man would appear in heaven. 
The first appearance would not be as the Son of God., in divine majesty and 
glory ; but in some way denoting his human nature and relationship, as the 
Son of man. This could not probably imply much power and glory. 

But this part of the scene should be viewed by " all the tribes of the earth," 
and they would witness, with grief and terror, the solemn inauguration of the 
Son of man into his kingly office and glory. Then they would mourn, for 
they would at once understand the hopelessness of their condition. The next 
scene would be the coming of the Son of man, as King, in the glory of his 
Father, and of the holy angels, by virtue of his kingly office. 

Notice, also, how this is implied in the closing part of his discourse : not a 
word has been mentioned about his kingly office ; but when the time comes to 
speak of it, in the regular order of the prophecy, then it is mentioned, as a 
matter of course, — as a thing understood, though not before referred to ! 

Chap. xxv. 31 : "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, [which wa3 
given to him, Dan. vii. 14,] and all the holy angels with htm,* then shall he sit 
upon the throne of his glory : [his glorious throne.] 32. Before him shall be 
gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them one from another." This 
refers to the judgment which he now performs. Verse 34 : " Then shall the 
King say unto them on his right hand, come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." 

Now, here are two things very remarkable : 1. The introduction of the 
title King, and the reference to the kingdom, as matters of course, without 
any previous reference to them, excepting the prefatory remark in the para- 
ble of the virgins. 2. It is remarkable that just in this connection, subsequent 
to the judgment, or separation, of the good and the bad, the "blessed of the 
Father" are invited to "inherit the kingdom." But this perfectly agrees with 
the order of events in Daniel's vision ; for his vision continued, (verse 22,) 
" Until the Ancient of days came,f and judgment was given to the saints of the 
Most High ; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom ! " 

Daniel also refers to the same thing in another connection : Verse 26 : "But 
the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his % dominion to consume and 
to destroy it unto the end. 27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness 
of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the 
saints of the Most High." 

The correspondency of Daniel's prophecy and our Lord's might be shown 
still further ; but sufficient has been said to guide the Bible student in his fur- 
ther researches. It only remains, touching this i,oint, to show briefly how 
our Lord has illustrated his own prophecy, by the parables recorded in the 

♦They first appeared with the Ancient of days. Dan. vii. 10. 

t Referred to again, but the inauguratory scene omitted, as having been sufficiently described 
previously. 
% The little Horn. 



432 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

13tli chapter of Matthew. What we are now called to read forms no part of 
the parables, however, but is his own statement of the application and meaning 
of the parables. Here are no figures ; no parables to explain parables ; but a 
literal application of figurative illustrations. They inquired for his meaning in 
the parable of the tares, verse 36. What follows is his explanation. Verse 
37 : "And he answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is 
the Son of man. 38. The field is the world ; the good seed are the children 
of the kingdom ; but the tares are the children of the wicked one. 39. The 
enemy that sowed them is the devil ; the harvest is the end of tee world ; and 
the reapers are the angels. 40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned 
in the fire ; so shall it be in the end of this world. .41. The Son of man shall send 
forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, 
and them which do iniquity, 42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire ; 
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43. Then shall the righteous 
sh hie forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." It remained peculiarly 
the kingdom of the Father until this time, when it was given to the Son, and 
this harmonized the expressions, in their application to that time of transfer, 
"his kingdom/' i. e. Christ s, (verse 41,) and their Father's kingdom, (ver. 43.) 
Taking all the Scriptures in connection, it throws light on the somewhat 
obscure references to the coming of God the Father, and the coming of Christ the 
Son. The vision of Daniel shows how to understand both expressions: they 
appear to relate in part to the inauguration. 

NOTE K. (Page 338.) 

" The last trump." This appears to be directly referred to in Eev. x 5 
" And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up 
his hand to heaven, 6. And sware by him that liveth forever and ever, . 

. . that there should be time no longer. 7. But in the days of the voice 

of the SEVENTH ANGEL, WHEN HE SHALL BEGIN TO SOUND, THE MYSTERY OF GOD SHALL 
BE FINISHED, AS HE HATH DECLARED TO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS." 

Then we have the sounding by the angel specifically referred to : Chap. xi. 
15. "And the seventh angel sounded ; and there were great voices in heaven,, 
saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
his Christ ; and he shall reign forever and ever. 18. And the nations were an- 
gry* and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be 
judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to 
the saints, and to them that fear thy name, small and great ; and shouldst destroy 
them that destroy the earth." ■{• Here, in the 6th verse of the former quotation, 
we have the oath, " that there shall be time no longer." Time is now filled up ; 
there is nothing more to be added ; it is "the fullness of times." In the next 
verse, we have the declaration that when the seventh angel begins to sound, 
the mystery of God should be finished as he hath declared it unto his servants 
the prophets.^ 

* The nations were not all converted, then, it seems, 
t Bead this in connection with the 2d Psalm. 

% We are then to examine what the prophete have said about this mystery of God. And we 
Bhall find it is all complete at the very period now under notice. 



APPENDIX. 433 

"When the seventh angel sounded, the great voices in heaven said, The king- 
doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ. But 
the nations were angry. It is certain, then, that by the kingdoms of this world 
becoming Christ's, it is not meant that the nations were converted ; else, why 
should they be angry ? And, as the quotation shows, this took place in con- 
nection with " the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and of giving re- 
ward to the saints, and of destroying them that destroyed the earth. And yet all 
this is connected with the second advent of Christ, as we learn from 1 Cor. 
xv. And this finishing up the mystery of God, as foretold by the prophets, at 
the fullness of the times, is plainly alluded to by St. Paul, (Eph. i 9.) "Hav- 
ing made known unto us the mystery of his will, 10. That in the dispensa- 
tion OF THE FULLNESS OF TIMES, HE MIGHT GATHER TOGETHER IN ONE ALL THINGS IN 

Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, in htm." * 

We see how the whole matter is identified not only with the time of gath- 
ering together all that are in Christ, in heaven and in earth, but also to the 
fact of their gathering, and of raising the dead to give reward to the saints, at 
the time of destroying the vncked ; all of which occurs at the period when the 
kingdoms of the world come into the hands of Christ. This fills up the time, and 
finishes the mystery of God which has been foretold by the prophets. And it is 
all connected with the second coming of Christ. How appropriate, with this 
understanding, is the declaration of Peter, (Acts iii. 21,) " Whom [Christ] the 
heavens must receive, until the times of restitution of all things which God 
hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began. 

NOTE L. (Page 339.) 

The order of these occurrences appears to be this : 1. The Ancient of Days,* 
with all the holy angels, and the saints, appear visibly in the clounds of hea- 
ven, shining with the effulgence ot their own glory, after the darkening of 
the sun, moon, and stars. 2. Christ, as the Son of man, is brought before him, 
and solemnly inaugurated into his everlasting kingdom, which then passes 
formally into his hands. Dan. vii. 14. 3. Then Christ, with all the angels, 
and the souls of the saints, descends toward the earth, with a great shout, 
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God sounding. 4, 
Chi-ist, for a time remains in the clouds, sends the saints down to the earth, 
probably, under the guidance of the angels, to the various places where their 
bodies are sleeping, and then the word that wakes the dead and changes the 
living, is sounded, which in an atom of time effects the resurrection and the 
transfiguration. 5. Then all are caught up into the clouds together, by the 
ministry of the angels, to meet the Lord in the air. 6. There they remain 
while the renovating fire is purging the earth, and destroying the wicked. 
7. Then the heavens and the earth are immediately restored to their original 
condition. 8. Christ reigns as king in the new heavens and earth, and the 
saints reign with him. 

In this way- they enter the everlasting kingdom. How long a time, as we 

*Eead the connections, particularly as far as to the 14th verse. 
t See Dan. vii. 

28 



434 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION, 

reckon time, these events will occupy in transpiring, we cannot ascertain, for 
God has not revealed it. It would seem, from some portions of the Scripture, 
that the earth is not to be burnt up, or annihilated, but only renovated ; as 
the flood did not annihilate the earth, but only produced great physical 
changes. 

NOTE M. (Page 349.) 

In Jer. xxiii. 16, this same title is applied to Jerusalem. But this did not 
render it any the less appropriate for the Messiah ; for the Jews were accus- 
tomed to incorporate the names of the Lord with the names of persons and 
places, as solemn religious memorials of divine interpositions. And they thus 
employed such titles for the very reason that they were the proper names of 
the Divine Being. 

In Exod. xvii. 15, we read, "And Moses built an altar, and called the name 
of it Jehovah-nissl," or "The Lord my Banner," — alluding to the victory over 
Amalek, which had been obtained through the signal interposition of Jeho- 
vah. We read, in Jud. vi. 24, " Then Gideon built an altar there unto the 
Lord, and called it Jehoyah-shalem," or "The Lord send peace." 

Gen. xxii. 14, "And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah- 
jireh," or "The Lord will provide," — in view of the divine interposition in 
providing a lamb for the sacrifice. 

Finally, not to multiply examples, in Ezek. xlviii. 35, where the prophet 
speaks of the period which we are now considering, we read, (referring to 
Jerusalem,) " It was round about eighteen thousand measures ; and the name 
of the city from that day shall be, Jehovah-shammah," " The Lord is there." 

There will be both custom and propriety in applying the divine name to 
Jerusalem, when it shall be built up to be " thrown down no more forever." 
In that day, in view of the Messiah having redeemed them from all iniquity, 
and made the city truly and permanently holy, it will be both scriptural and 
appropriate to call the name of the place " Jehovah our Righteousness." For 
Jehovah Messiah, the Righteous Branch, will then be "raised up unto David :" 
and, as " King," " shall reign and prosper, executing judgment and righteous- 
ness in the earth." 

NOTE N. (Pages 357, 362.) 

Some are ready to cavil and object, whenever the future residence of the 
redeemed from the earth is represented as a literal, material place ; not re- 
membering, it would seem, that this is the usual representation of the place 
in the Scriptures. And they appear to forget, too, that man, in his original 
glory, walking and conversing with his Creator, was a being with a body as 
well as a soul; that he rejoiced in communion with the Lord, in the literal 
Eden where he was originally placed, and from which, after he sinned, he 
was driven. "What do we sinners want more than original immortality and 
glory, with uninterrupted, and everlasting enjoyment of God's presence and 
favor? 

If, by the resurrection, all the effects of sin are perfectly and perpetually 
removed, and our bodies, like our Lord's, shall be glorious and incorruptible, 



APPENDIX. 435 

shall we complain and cavil because there is nothing better ? Do we demand 
a premium for having sinned ? Do we require to be better conditioned than if 
we had never transgressed? "Where has God promised to make sinners bet- 
ter and happier than man would have been if sin had not been committed? 

If man was originally perfectly holy, perfectly happy, free from all disease 
and disquietude, and blessed witli familiar communion with his Maker ; why 
should we feel such a shrinking from the idea of having a local habitation, 
adapted to the spiritualized, yet — of necessity — still material body, with 
which all will be furnished in the resurrection state ? The new heavens and 
the new earth will undoubtedly be indescribably and inconceivably beautiful 
and glorious ; but they will be earth and heaven still. 

The reader is earnestly advised to do himself the favor to read Dr. Chal- 
mers' Sermon on the New Heavens and the New Earth. As all may not have 
at hand the Sermon referred to, it may be expedient to give some portions 
of it, that the reader may be informed of the Doctor's view of this subject : 

"It were venturing on the region of conjecture to affirm, whether, jf Adam 
had not fallen, the earth that we now tread upon, would have been the ever- 
lasting abode of him and his posterity. But certain it is, that man, at the 
first, had for his place this world, and, at the same time, for his privilege, an 
unclouded fellowship with God, and, for his prospect, an immortality, which 
death was neither to intercept nor put an end to. He was terrestrial in re- 
spect of condition, and yet celestial in respect both of character and enjoy- 
ment. His eye looked outwardly on a landscape of earth, while his heart 
breathed upwardly in the love of heaven. And though he trode the solid 
platform of our world, and was compassed about with its horizon — still was 
he within the circle of God's favored creation, and took his place among the 
freemen and the denizens of the great spiritual commonwealth. This may 
serve to rectify an imagination, of which we think that all must be conscious 

— as if the grossness of materialism was only for those who had degenerated 
into the grossness of sin ; and that, when a spiritualizing process had purged 
away all our corruption, then, by the stepping stones of a death and resur- 
rection, we should be borne away to some ethereal region, where sense, and 
body, and all in the shape either of audible sound, or of tangible substance, 
were unknown. And hence that strangeness of impression which is felt by 
you, should the supposition be offered, that in the place of eternal blessedness 
there will be ground to walk upon ; or scenes of luxuriance to delight the 
corporeal senses ; or the kindly intercourse of friends talking familiarly, and 
by articulate converse together ; or, in short, anything that has the least re- 
semblance to a local territory, filled with various accommodations, and peo- 
pled over i ts whole extent by creatures formed like ourselves — having bodies 
such as we now wear, and faculties of perception, and thought, and mutual 
communication, such as we now exercise. The common imagination that we 
have of paradise on the other side of death,* is, that of a lofty, aerial region, 
where the inmates float in ether, or are mysteriously suspended upon nothing 

— where all the warm and sensible accompaniments which give such an ex- 

* Chalmers is certainly speaking of the resurrection state, as the previous paragraphs show. 



436 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

pression of strength, and life, and coloring, to our present habitation, are at- 
tenuated into a sort of spiritual element that is meagre, and imperceptible, 
and utterly uninviting to mortals here below — where every vestige of mate- 
rialism is done away, and nothing left but certain unearthly scenes that have 
no power of allurement, and certain unearthly ecstacies, with which it is felt 
impossible to sympathize. The holders of this imagination forget, all the 
while, that really there is no essential connection between materialism and 
sin — that the world which we now inhabit, had all the amplitude and solidity 
of its present materialism, before sin entered into it — that God so far, on 
that account, from looking slightly upon it, after it had received the last 
touch of his creating hand, reviewed the earth; and the waters, and the fir- 
mament, and all the green herbage, with the living creature^ and the man 
whom he had raised in dominion over them, and he saw every thing that he 
had made, and behold, it was all very good. They forget that on the birth 
of materialism, when it stood out in the freshness of those glories which the 
great Architect of Nature had impressed upon it, that then "the morning 
stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." They forget 
the appeals that are made everywhere in the Bible to this material workman- 
ship — and how, from the face of these visible heavens, and the garniture of 
this earth that we tread upon, the greatness and the goodness of God are re- 
flected on the view of his worshipers. ~No, my brethren, the object of the 
administration we sit under, is to extirpate sin, but it is not to sweep away 
mrterialism." 

He also argues the question from the fact of the resurrection of the body. 
Some entertaining the notion that a material heaven and earth and a mate- 
rial body will be rather degrading to the immortal being, he thus continues 
his eloquent discourse: "But, as a proof of some metaphysical delusion upon 
this subject, the product, perhaps, of a wrong, though fashionable philosophy, 
it would appear, that to embody the spirit is not the stepping stone to its 
degradation, but to its preferment. The last day will be a day of triumph to 
the righteous — because the day of reen trance of the spirit to its much-loved 
abode, where its faculties, so far from being shut up in captivity, will find 
their free and kindred development in such material organs as are suited to 
them. The fact of the resurrection proves, that, with man at least, the state 
of disembodied spirit is a state of unnatural violence — and that the resur- 
rection of his body is an essential step to the highest perfection of which he 
is susceptible. And it is indeed an homage to that materialism, which many 
are for expunging from the future state of the universe altogether — that ere 
the immortal soul of man has reached the ultimate glory and blessedness 
which are designed for it, it must return and knock at that very grave where 
lie the mouldered remains of the body which it wore, and there inquisition 
must be made for the flesh, and the sinews, and the bones, which the power 
of corruption has perhaps for centuries before, assimilated to the earth that 
is around them — and there the minute atoms must be reassembled into a 
structure that bears upon it the form and the lineaments, and the general as- 
pect of a man." 

This renewed and immortal man, composed of a spiritual and a material na- 



APPENDIX. 437 

ture united, must now have an appropriate residence. Chalmers shall speak 
again : " And we do hail the information of our text, that after the dissolu- 
tion of its present framework, it will again be varied and decked out anew in 
all the graces of its unfading verdure, and of its unbounded variety — that 
in addition to our direct and personal view of the Deity, when he comes down 
to tabernacle with men, we shall also have the reflection of him in a lovely 
mirror of his own workmanship, and instead of being transported to some abode 
of dimness and mystery, so remote from human experience, as to be beyond all 
comprehension, we shall walk forever in a land replenished with those sensible de- 
lights, and those sensible glories, which, we doubt not, will lie most profusely scat- 
tered over the ' new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwellcth righteousness.' " . 

But will not this be Mahometanism ? 

" But though a paradise of sense, it will not be a paradise of sensuality. 
Though not so unlike the present world as many apprehend it, there will be 
one point of total dissimilarity betwixt them. It is not the entire substitution 
of spirit for matter, that will distinguish the future economy from the present. 
But it will be the entire substitution of righteoucness for sin. It is this which 
signalizes the Christian from the Mahometan paradise — not that sense, and 
substance, and splendid imagery, and the glories of a visible creation seen 
with bodily eyes, are excluded from it — but that all which is vile in princi- 
ple, or voluptuous in impurity, will be utterly excluded from it. There will 
be a firm earth, as we have at present, and a heaven stretched over it, as we 
have at present : and it is not by the absence of these, but by the absence of 
sin, that the abodes of immortality will be characterized. There will be both 
heavens and earth, it would appear, in the next great administration — and 
with this speciality to mark it from the present one, that it will be a heaven 
and an earth wherein dwelleth righteousness!" 

This long extract will be welcomed in this connection, not only for the 
beauty and eloquence of its composition, but for its perfect relevancy to the 
subject in hand. This is the way to interpret Scripture ; not according to the 
fancies of men, but according to the teachings of Inspiration. This discourse 
of Chalmers is eminently valuable, as well for the correctness of its philoso- 
phy, as for the evident scripturalness of its divinity. 

NOTE O. (Page 366.) 
The theory of interpretation adopted in this Treatise is the only theory 
that harmonizes the chronology of the events which are described in the 
various portions of the Bible. For example — the coming of our Lord — the 
Branch — the Ensign — the Shepherd — the King — the David — the Prince, 
of the ancient prophecies; and the setting up of his everlasting kingdom 
over the House of Israel, when the heathen are given to him for his inherit- 
ance, to rule with a rod ef iron, to dash in pieces as a potter's vessel*; the 
gathering together of his elect — of all his elect — to enjoy his presence and 
glory ; the creation of the new heavens and the new earth ; the resurrection of the 
righteous dead, and the coming down of the new Jerusalem from God out of 
heaven ; and the tabernacling of the Lord for ever in the midst of his people ;— 
all these events are to be accomplished in connection, or at the same gene- 



438 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ral period. Now it requires but a little comparing together of Scripture with 
Scripture to determine this. We have seen, (1.) that the resurrection of Israel 
and their final universal fathering together are to occur in connection. (See 
Ezek. xxxvii. 11, 12, 13, acd 21, 22, 25.) We have seen (2,) how this is to trans- 
pire in connection with the reign of Messiah, as the promised David, in his 
everlasting kingdom,. (25,26.) We have seen (3.) how this is connected with 
the placing of the sanctuary in their midst for evermore. (26.) And (4.) how 
this is connected with his tabernacle, or dwelling, being with them forever. 
(27.) — Now, to compare with other prophecies, a little, turn to Rev. iii 7. 
Here Messiah speaks as opening his kingdom and shutting it ; he has " t/ie 
key of David.'' 1 And he evidently promises to . the faithful something more 
than merely present spiritual or temporal rewards : those who endure to the 
end are to inherit the kingdom of their Lord. (Matt. xxv. 34.) This is the 
time that they are to be crowned. (2 Tim. iv, 8.) Verse 11 refers to his 
coming [with the key of David — v. 7] to crown the faithful. Verse 12 
speaks, firstly, of the temple, or sanctuary, that is to be in their midst for 
evermore ; and, secondly, of the New Jerusalem which is to come down out of 
heaven from God, 

Now, in Rev. xxi., we have the connections of these events more clearly ex- 
hibited. Verse 1 brings to view the new heavens and the new earth. Verse 2 
brings to view the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, pre- 
pared as a bride adorned for her husband ; which is still further described in 
verses 10-21, and shown to be the church of Christ. (Verse 9.) By the 
church coming down out of heaven, at this time, can be meant nothing less or 
more than the coming of all the saints with Christ when he comes, " and the 
dead in Christ shall rise first;" or, as it is expressed in 1 Cor. xv. 23, "They 
that are Christ's [shall be raised] at his coming." Their souls, which have 
— since death — been with God in heaven, shall then come with Christ, and 
be again connected with their bodies in the resurrection state. In verse 3, we 
have the tabernacle of God with men, where God is to dwell with them, and 
they are to be his people, and he is to be their God. Compare this with 
Ezek. xxxvii. 26, 27, 28. 

The everlasting residence of God's people is represented as a kingdom, a 
city, and a paradise. Rev. xxi. leaves us in no doubt of the fact that the 
church in the resurrection state is alluded to. (See verses 4, 5.) Yet, com- 
pare verses 24, 25, 26, 27, with Isa. lx. 3, 5, 11, 14, 19, 20, 21, 22; and Rev. 
xxii. 5. And this is to be connected with his coming : Rev. xxi. 3, and xx. 3, 
4, 7, 12, 20; and with the the new heavens and the new earth: Isa. lxv. 17-25, 
and lxvi. 15-24. 

Yet it was evidently this very state of things which Peter (2 Pet. iii. 10-14,) 
had in view when he said, (verse 13,) "Nevertheless, we, according to his 
promise, look for new Iieavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 
Now, where did Peter find the promise to God's people — himself and the rest— 
of a new heaven and earth ? It could be no where else but Isa. li. 16, and 
lxv. 17, and lxvi. 22. Yet in all these places it is so directly and undeniably 
connected with the conversion and restoration of Israel, and the renewing of 
their father-land, that it ought not to be considered of doubtful application. 



APPENDIX. 439 

NOTE P. (Page 386.) 

It is, or ought to be, generally known that the doctrine of the millennial 
reign of Christ on the earth, ushered in by his second advent, and the resur- 
rection of the saints, was generally believed by the primitive Christians who 
lived just after the apostolic age. The successors of the apostles, and those 
who had the best opportunities for becoming acquainted with their views, ap- 
pear to have understood the book of Revelation as teaching this doctrine. 
And so evidently to the primitive church did the Revelation favor this doc- 
trine ; so accustomed were they to appeal to this book to sustain their views 
on this subject, that the first serious attempt to disprove the genuineness of 
the book, was for the reason that it so evidently taught the millennial doc- 
trine, as held by the Christian Fathers, that if the book was acknowledged to 
be the writing of St. John, the opposers of the millennium could not maintain 
their ground in the controversy ; so they endeavored to bring discredit upon 
this portion of the Scriptures. It is important to recollect, however, that this 
did not occur until some time in the third century. Up to that period the 
book of Revelation appears to have been generally, perhaps universally, re- 
ceived by the church as the production of St. John ; and they also seem to 
have understood it to teach the millennial reign of Christ. 

In "Horne's Introduction," we find this truth distinctly stated; though 
Mr. Home himself seems not to have favored the ancient millennial doctrines, 
Speaking of the book of Revelation, he says, " It is a remarkable circumstance 
that the authenticity of this book was very generally, if not universally, ac- 
knowledged during the first two centuries, and yet in the third century it began 
to be questioned. This seems to have been occasioned by some absurd notions 
respecting the millennium, which a few well meaning but fanciful expositors 
grounded on this book : which notions their opponents injudiciously and pre- 
sumptuously endeavored to discredit, by denying the authenticity of the book 
itself." 

Now it seems exceedingly improbable that a serious attempt should have 
been made to bring discredit upon a portion of the Scriptures, which had not 
been questioned during the first two centuries, merely because " a few well 
meaning but fanciful expositors" had used it to sustain their fanciful views. 
In such a case it is likely that a much easier, and a much safer method would 
have been pursued by the opposers of the millennial views. They would 
have opposed the many to the "few" expositors; and the solid, rational ones 
to the "fanciful." It appears very certain that the millennial doctrine was 
too successfully defended by this book ; and the advocates of the doctrine 
were too numerous, and — with the aid of Revelation — too potent for their 
opponents ; and hence the endeavor to deprive them of a source of arguments 
which could not be successfully answered. 

But who were these "few well meaning but fanciful expositors" that could 
not be overcome in argument, without first depriving them of a portion of 
the word of God? They were, in some instances, the most immediate, and 
the most eminent, of the successors of the apostles in the government and in- 
struction of the church. They were, in their day, as the Paleys, Baxters, "Wea* 
leys, Edwards, Halls, Chalmers, &c, of recent times. 



440 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

Mr. Barnes does not favor the primitive millennial doctrine ; but, with his 
usual candor, he admits that "The opinion here adverted to was held substan- 
tially by Papias, Justin Martyr, Ireneus, Tertullian, and others among the 
Christian Fathers." But who was Ireneus? He was born about fifty years 
after St. John wrote his Revelation ; and in A. D. 118 he was Bishop of Lyons, 
in France. He must have been conversant with those who had been acquaint- 
ed with St. John. Indeed, we are distinctly informed that he was "one of 
Polycarp's disciples." He was instructed in religion bt one of the most holy 

AND EMINENT OF THOSE WHO WERE THEMSELVES PERSONALLY TAUGHT BY St. JOHN ! 

And who was Papias ? Ireneus informs us that Papias was " a disciple of St. 
John, and a companion of Polycarp !" He was also a bishop. The disciple of 
St. John could not have been ignorant of his master's views on so important a 
matter as the millennial reign of Christ. Papias himself explains how he be- 
came informed of the teachings of the holy apostles. He says, " But I shall 
not regret to subjoin to my interpretations, also for your benefit, whatsoever 
I have at any time accurately ascertained and treasured up in my memory, 
as I have received it from the elders, and have recorded it in order to give ad- 
ditional confirmation to the truth, by my testimony. For I have never, like 
many, delighted to hear those that tell many things, but those that teach the 
truth, neither those that record foreign precepts, but those that are given from 
the Lord, to our faith, and that come from the truth itself. But if I met any 
one who had been a follower of the elders anywhere, I made it a point to in- 
quire what were the declaration of the elders. "What was said by Andrew, 
Peter, or Philip. What by Thomas, James, John, Matthew, or any other of 
the disciples of our Lord ; for I do not think that I derived so much benefit 
from books as from the living voice of those that are still surviving." Euseb. 
Eccl. Hist, B. 3, c. 39. 

And who was Justin Martyr? He flourished about fifty years after the 
death of St. John ; and was undoubtedly acquainted with those who had con- 
versed with John, and heard him preach. He was one of the ablest and most 
voluminous writers of the primitive church. Eusebius speaks of him in this 
manner, " This Justin has left us many monuments of a mind well stored with 
learning, and devoted to sacred things, replete with matter profitable in every 
respect." And who was Tertullian? Born A. D. 160, associating with those 
who had been permitted to hear the immediate successors of the apostles, ed- 
ucated in the true Christian doctrine, and finally becoming one of the great 
champions of Christianity, he was qualified to judge correctly in the impor- 
tant controversies about the Christian faith. 

And all these, it is admitted, — Papius, Justin Martyr, Ireneus, and Tertul- 
lian, were advocates for the millennial doctrine, as then held by the church 
generally. Situated as they were, could they have been mistaken in so im- 
portant a matter as the pre-millennial advent of Christ, and the resurrection 
of the saints? 

But what specifically were the views of these eminent and unimpeachable 
Fathers of the primitive church ? "The opinion of the Christian Fathers," 
says Mr. Barnes, " with which the modern 'Literalists,' as they are called, 
substantially coincide, is thus stated by Mr. Elliott: 'This resurrection is to 



APPENDIX. 441 

be literally that of departed saints and martyrs, then at length resuscitated in 
the body from death and the grave, its time to synchronise with, or follow in- 
stantly after, the destruction of the beast Antichrist, on Christ's personal sec- 
ond advent ; the binding of Satan to be an absolute restriction of the power 
of hell from tempting, deceiving, or injuring mankind, throughout a literal 
period of a thousand years, thence calculated; the government of the earth du- 
ring the continuance to be administered by Christ and the risen saints — the 
latter being now itfoL'yys'X.oi — in nature like angels; and under it, all false 
religion having been put down, the Jews and saved remnant of the Gentiles 
been converted to Christ, the earth renovated by the fire of Antichrist's de- 
struction, and Jerusalem made the universal capital, there will be a realiza- 
tion on earth of the blessedness depicted in the Old Testament prophecies, as 
well perhaps of that to which is associated with the new Jerusalem in the vis- 
ions of the Apocalypse — until at length this millennium having ended, and 
Satan gone forth to deceive the nations, the final consummation will follow ; 
the new-raised enemies of the saints, Gog and Magog, be destroyed by fire 
from heaven : and then the general resurrection and judgment take place, the 
devil and his servants be cast into the lake of fire, and the millennial reign of 
the saints extend itself into one of eternal duration." See Barnes on Revela- 
tion. 

"Whitby has made a etrong effort to prove that the primitive Christians 
during the first three centuries were not all believers in the millennial doc- 
trine. And he has certainly shown that the doctrine had its disbelievers and 
opposers from the very first. But does this prove that the millenarian doc- 
trine was not the true and generally received doctrine of the primitive church ? 
Suppose there were unbelievers and opposers : — what doctrine of the Chris- 
tian church, peculiar to Christianity, has ever yet attained to universal ac- 
ceptance ? Even during the lifetime of Paul there were some who opposed the 
doctrine of the resurrection, and overthrew the faith of some. Is it therefore 
doubtful whether the apostles taught the doctrine of the resurrection of the 
dead? Some disbelieved in the divinity of Christ, and some disbelieved in his 
humanity ; but are we willing to acknowledge that either of these doctrines 
is of doubtful origin ? Some denied justification by faith ; and some at fi^st 
taught the necessity of circumcision ; but do we hesitate to speak decidedly 
with respect to what was, and what was not, the true orthodox view of the 
general church ? It is easy to perceive from Whitby's own statements in the 
case, that the disbelievers in the millenarian doctrine were merely the ex- 
ceptions to the general rule. He concludes thus : 

"Here, then, we may evidently discern three sorts of men: 1. The heretics, 
denying the resurrection of the flesh, and the millennium. 2. The exactly 
orthodox, asserting both the resurrection and the kingdom of Christ upon earth. 
3. The believers who consented with the just, and yet endeavored to allegorize, 
and turn into metaphor all those Scriptures he had produced for a proper reign 
of Christ, and who had sentiments rather agreeing with those heretics who denied, 
than those exactly orthodox who maintained, this reign of Christ on earth." 

Just so: "Whitby merits our gratitude for this honest conclusion. The her- 
etics, who denied the resurrection of the flesh, would of course deny the mil- 



4:42 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

lennium ; for the millennium implied the resurrection of the dead. But shall 
we reject a doctrine because the heretics denied it in order to maintain their 
heresy / The heretics were not the church, any more than a parasite plant is 
the tree which it disfigures. As to the rest, they were of two classes : 1. " The 
exactly orthodox, asserting both the resurrection and the kingdom, of Christ upon 
earth. 2. The believers who consented with the just, andyet endeavored to allegor- 
ize and turn into metaphor all those Scriptures he had produced for a proper 
reign of Christ, and who had sentiments rather agreeing with the heretics, 
who denied, than those exactly orthodox who maintained^ this reign of Christ 
on the earth." Precisely ; and we have the same state of things now : there 
are (1.) the open heretics who oppose the sentiments of the (2.) exactly ortho- 
dox, who constitute the great body of the general church. Then we have a 
class of (3.) "believers" who "consent with the just," in relation to the gen- 
uineness of the Scriptures, and the authority of their revelations ; but, alas 
for them, by allegorizing and metaphorizing all such portions of the Bible as, 
understood literally, would overthrow their erroneous doctrines, they hold 
" sentiments rather agreeing with those heretics" than with those " exactly or- 
thodox!" " There is no new thing under the sun." Just as it is now, so it ap- 
pears to have been at first : there were the open heretics, radically opposed to 
the orthodox, and answering to our open infidels. And there were the pro- 
fessed believers, consenting with the orthodox in the main, but by a system of 
allegorical and metaphoiical interpretation of the Scriptures, they maintained 
sentiments more in agreement with the heretics than with the orthodox por- 
tion of the church ; thus perfectly corresponding to our modern Universalists, 
and some other professed "believers," but, in truth, unbelievers in the true 
doctrines of the church 1 

Now, to close this unpleasant review, let it be recollected, (1.) By what 
portion of the primitive church the millenarian doctrines were held; and, (2.) 
By what methods of interpretation the disbelieving " believers" maintained 
their disbelief to the orthodox teachings of the church ; and, finally, To what 
result their allegorical expositions of the Scriptures led them. One word fur- 
ther — To which of the three divisions will the opposers of the primitive mil- 
lenarian doctrine be likely to be attached? 

NOTE Q. (Page 397.) 

Relative to the word yev£a rendered generation, it may be expedient to say 
a little more than was appropriate in the Exposition. 

One of our most experienced and able linguists has kindly furnished the 
following observations. " Tevea. is derived from an old verb ygvu from which 
is derived the later form yiyvo^ai which means, primarily, to come into exist- 
ence, not to exist originally, which is expressed by fjjxj. These two verbs you 
will observe in John i. 1, and i. 3, where you will notice the distinction. In 
Liddell and Scott's Lexicon, which is now regarded as of the best authority, 
we have the following definitions : L Primary meaning, birth. II. Race, de- 
scent. This is the most common sense in Homer and the early writers. It 
often means, in Homer, noble birth. III. A race, a generation, of which, ac- 
cording to Herodotus, there are three in a century ; means, sometimes, also, 



APPENDIX. 443 

the times. IV. Offspring, descent This meaning is not found in Homer, but 
is a post-Homeric sense. This word is nearly allied to the neuter noxmysvog. 
both being derived from the same verb, only from different roots of it. In ad- 
dition to the above definitions, the meaning a people, a nation, is added. 
Sometimes it denotes also sex, and kind, genus. Plato calls the elements of na- 
ture tol ybf\. My °1<1 Schrevellius, the father of Greek lexicons, defines the 
word in question, genus, progenies, familia, natio, species, and adds, Hinc apud 
Gramm. Anglice gender. My other English lexicons do not differ essentially 
from Liddell and Scott." 

It will be evident to all that the primary signification, to come into existence, 
gives character to all the secondary and accommodated uses of the word. 
The leading definitions, family, race, descent, progeny, genus, sufficiently de- 
velop the governing idea of the word. There may, indeed, be three genera- 
tions in a century ; but the idea of generation does not so much respect the 
duration of the people's existence, as the fact and origin of it. 

It is barely possible that the word in question was used by our Saviour to 
mean " the persons then living ; " but all the probabilities are against it. In 
the foregoing critical observations on the word, it will be perceived that all 
the definitions that are relevant to the case, are favorable to the conclusions 
adopted in this Exposition, and unfavorable to the use of the term which is 
herein objected to. 

A personal examination of a multitude of Lexicons has fully satisfied the 
author that the proper rendering of the word is not given by those who teach 
that it means " the persons living at the same time." A generation of men 
may indeed be living at the same time ; but that is not the reason why they 
should be called a generation ; for the word has particular respect to their 
origin and kind. In Syriac the word that corresponds to generation in the 
Lord's prophecy, is thus defined : " Generatio, tribus, familia." * Kef. Matt. 
xi. 16, Acts xxvi. Y, and iii. 25. In German the corresponding word is de- 
fined ; " Genus, kind, species, race, generation, origin, sex, stock, extraction, 
family, lineage, house, blood, birth, descent." f The corresponding word in 
French is defined, " Generation, propagation, production, progeny, descent." 
In Spanish the corresponding word is defined, " Generation, the act of beget- 
ting, or producing,:}: (2.) progeny, race, (3.) a single succession, (4.) a na- 
tion, an age." 

These definitions have been procured through the kindness of a master of 
many tongues. By the corresponding word is meant the word used in the 
London Polyglott Bible where the text under notice is found in a variety of 
languages. The careful reader must have been struck with the almost utter 
absence of anything in these various definitions favorable to the use of the 
word opposed in this Treatise. And if anything more is needed to complete 
these strictures, it may be derived from even the appropriate English use of 

* Not one of these favors the use of the word which this Treatise opposes. 

t Fifteen definitions, and none of them favorable to the rendering of the word here objected to. 

X This is undoubtedly the meaning of the word generation in the several languages above no* 
Weed : " the act of begetting, or producing." 



444 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

the word in question. "Webster gives seven classifications of definitions, and 
but one is favorable to the use of the word objected to; and out of thirteen 
definitions there is but one favorable to that use of the word ! And it is a lit- 
tle remarkable that this one definition is sustained by an example that proves 
more against it than for it ! 

As to the Scripture use of the word in question, it is safe to credit the tes- 
timony of such men as Adam Clarke, and the others referred to in the com- 
ment on the verse under notice. There are a few places where the term seems 
ta be applied to the persons living at the same time ; but the far greater num- 
ber certainly use the term in strict conformity with its leading, primary 
meanings. And in many places the word is employed in a manner that ren- 
ders it perfectly impossible to define it in accordance with the notion of Bish- 
op Newton, and others of the same school. 

To assume, then, that the word in question, in Matt. xxiv. 34, means the 
persons then living, and not the Jews as a race, progeny, or kind of people, is to 
assume what not only is xoithout proof from the etymology and use of the 
word, but against proof, since it is at variance with the derivation and com- 
mon use of the word by not only the Scriptures, but by standard authorities 
in various nations and ages. 

And what shall be said of the practice of making that assumed, unusual, 
and almost unexampled, use of the word a criterion to test the truthfulness 
of the interpretation of some of the most important predictions in the Bible ? 
That definition and use of the word has introduced more confusion and inju- 
rious error into our modern Commentaries, than any one can possibly realize 
who has not personally and patiently investigated this matter. 

This Exposition has no occasion to use the word in any but its primary 
and common Bible use ; yet how easy and how natural the exposition of the 
text. 

NOTE R. (Page 407.) 
It is now quite common to apply all this, and especially the text under com- 
ment, to the coming of the Romans and the fatal war. All the face of the 
whole earth is made to mean the whole land of Judea ! The suddenness and 
unexpectedness of the snare is applied to the (supposed) suddenness and unex- 
pectedness of the war. The admonitions to watchfulness and preparation are, 
of course, made to harmonize with the rest. As much — too much perhaps — 
has already been said on this subject, in the Exposition, it is only necessary 
to add, in this connection, that the whole system of figurative interpretation 
of this part of the prophecy, is founded on a radical misconception of the 
facts in the case. In no sense whatever was the coming of the Romans, or 
the beginning of the war, either sudden, or unexpected. This whole matter 
is made sufficiently evident in Appendix No. 2. 

NOTE S. (Page 415.) 
But will not this doctrine injure the great benevolent enterprises of the 
age ? If the world is not to be converted before the coming of Christ, why, 
then send out missionaries, and endeavor to do an impossible thing ? 



APPENDIX. 4i5 

Are you, then, laboring to save souls, not from a conviction of their intrin- 
sic value, but from an expectation, or an ambition, to save all ? If you cannot 
save every one, will you withhold your endeavors to save any one ? And do 
you make your plans, your hopes, and your ambition, the criterion of Scrip- 
ture exegesis? What you conceive will favor your plans and hopes, — that is 
truth; but what seems to be unfavorable, — that is error! Does not this 
amount practically to the papal infallibility which forms the foundation rock 
of Romanism? Is it not virtually pronouncing, ex cathedra, what is orthodox, 
and what is heresy ? 

Is it nothing that the Lord has nowhere revealed that the world shall be con- 
verted previously to the judgment-coming of Christ ? Is it nothing that the 
Bible everywhere represents that the world will be found in wickedness when 
the Lord shall return ? Is it nothing that a principal and primary work to 
be accomplished at the second advent, will be the destruction of the tares 
from among the wheat ? That he will be revealed in flaming fire, with his 
mighty angels, taking vengeance on them that know not the Lord, nor obey 
the Gocpel, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction? Is it noth- 
ing that the Little Horn, the False Prophet, the Man of Sin, the Anti-Christ, 
are represented as surviving and operating against God and the Church, until 
the Lord comes to judgment ? Is it nothing that a large proportion of our 
Saviour's parables and predictions unmistakably show that, when he comes, it 
will be as when the deluge rushed upon the old world, or as when the flames 
fell upon wicked Sodom ? Must all this, and innumerable other instances of 
the same import, amount to nothing — absolutely to nothing — with you? 
Are your hopes so ardent, your ambition so settled, and your zeal so excited, 
that you cannot pause a moment to examine the groundwork of your confi- 
dence ? 

What is the real principle that governs you in your endeavors to save the 
world ? Is it the intrinsic value of each immortal spirit ? Is it from obedi- 
ence to the command, " Occupy till I come ?" Is it from an overflowing be- 
nevolence, or deep religious sense of obligation? Or — let us be candid — is 
it from hope of success — of success on a great scale ? 

If we can save many, most, or all, then we will put forth our best endeav- 
ors. But if the time is short, and but comparatively few can be saved, then 
we will slacken our efforts ! Is this your plea? See there ! That ship is on 
fire ! A thousand human beings are in danger ! See ! The flames are all 
around them ! They are perishing every moment ! A score have perished 
since we first beheld them ! An hundred will die before we can man a boat; 
another hundred before we can reach the wreck ! See them, surrounded with 
flames, or struggling in the fire-lit billows ! Hurry, hurry, time is precious : 
all will soon be over: they perish every moment : in a little all will be lost ! 
Of a thousand you cannot hope now to save a tenth : hurry, hurry ! What ! 
doing nothing? Will you not save so*ne of them? O, what is the use of try- 
ing ? By the time we could save fifty or a hundred they will all be lost, as 
you say ; nearly all are perished already. Since there is no prospect of sav- 
ing tlie whole, what is the encouragement to save only a part ? The whole, or 
none, is my motto. The reader will easily make the application. 



446 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

But who will contribute to the Missionary cause, if the pre-millennial ad- 
rent doctrine prevails ? "Who will contribute ? Do you think the " evil ser- 
vant" will, who saith in his heart, My Lord delay eth his coming? If, as 
Christ represents the case, the tendency of such a view is, to smite the fellow 
servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, will he give largely, regu- 
larly, and from principle ? What is the chief impediment to the world's con- 
version ? What is it that locks up the hearts and hands of the wealthy, and 
would-be-wealthy, Christians ? Is it not the seemingly irresponsible extrava- 
gance, lust, and worldly ambition of the present age? Does it not result 
principally from a losing sight of the fact, as well as the natare, of the Lord's 
coming ? Is there not, also, a general impression that there is no need of 
haste in the matter ? That the world's conversion is pre-determined, and will 
somehow be effected, before the day of salvation passes ? How should we all 
feel, if we were deeply impressed with the reality of the Lord' 's judgment-coming, 
and with the certainty that it may be immediately ? Would there be as much 
vanity, and dissipation, to consume not only our wealth, but our religion too ? 
Would the general cry be, What shall we eat ? what shall we drink ? and 
wherewithal shall we be clothed ? Would there be so much laying up treas- 
ure on earth, and so little thought of the inheritance in heaven ? What is the 
principal difficulty in the way of the largest liberality ? Does it need to be 
answered ? Let works of the character of this Treatise be generally preva- 
lent ; and let the leading influences of the church encou rage the conviction, 
that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, and therefore may 
be at hand ; and let there be a modification of the principle by which we 
contribute, and by which we labor, so as to harmonize with the Scripture 
doctrine ' r and would not the gold of the church be converted ? 

The infidelity of the world, and the worldliness of the church, could not 
withstand the general, the encouraged, the thorough, practical conviction, that 
the day of the Lord will come as a snare upon all them that dwell on the face 
of the whole earth. The author is impressed that some essential defect in 
doctrine, in respect to the closing up of the gospel dispensation ; or some 
practical disbelief of the teachings of Inspiration, in respect to the world's 
destiny, is the chief difficulty in the way of the wider spread of the Chris- 
tian religion abroad, and the more general observance of its higher claims at 
home. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge," was the complaint 
in ancient times; and, to some extent, it might be made at the present But 
the knowledge, undoubtedly, was the knowledge of God in respect to his 
purposes. 



APPENDIX II. 



A SYNOPSIS OF JOSEPHUS' HISTORY OF THE JEWISH WAR. 



Paut 1. — Period — From the time Judea became a Roman Province 
to the flight of Cestius Gallus 

1. Judea became subject to the Roman8 about 63 B. C, when Pompey took 
Jerusalem, and laid the country under tribute. But still, until the time of 
Christ, the Jews were governed by men of their own nation. 

2. Herod the Great was reigning in Judea at the time of our Saviour's birth ; 
but he died in less than two years after. By will, Herod divided his domin- 
ions among his three sons, Archelaus, Philip, and Antipas. Archelaus was 
appointed to succeed him in the kingdom proper, with the title of king ; 
Philip was made Tetrarch of the provinces of Batanea, Trachonitis, Gauloni- 
tis, and Paneas ; Antipas was made Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. 

3. As Herod had appointed the Roman Emperor the administrator of his will, 
it was necessary that the document should be carried to Rome. The emperor 
confirmed the will, with the exception that Archelaus should be entitled Eth- 
naroh instead of king. Archelaus reigned with much difficulty and ill suc- 
cess for about nine years, when the emperor banished him from the country. 

4. It was at this time that Judea was made a Roman province, and annexed to 
the prefecture of Syria It was about A. D. 11 or 12 : some authorities place 
it earlier. The province also included Samaria. The provincial capital was 
Ccsarea. The capital of the Syrian presidency was Antioch. 

5. Having given this condensed summary of the governmental changes 
through which the country passed, up to the time when Judea became a prov- 
ince, it will be proper to go back a little, in order to show why Archelaus 
was deposed and his ethnarchy made a province. While he was absent on 
his journey to Rome, a sedition broke out among the Jews, occasioned by 
their opposition to Sabinus, the commander of the Roman forces at Jerusa- 
lem. He was besieged in the city by the Jews, and terrible conflicts resulted. 

6. At the same time there were conflicts and seditions in various parts of 
the country. A battle took place in the southern portion between two thou- 
sand of king Herod's old soldiers and those belonging to the later king's party. 
At this time also occurred the sedition of Judas the Galilean. And there was 
likewise a revolution attempted by Anthrongeus, who aspired to be a king. 
In view of these turbulent proceedings, Josephus observes, that "they filled 
all Judea with a piratic war." 



4AS HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

7. Sabinus still being besieged in Jerusalem by the Jews, repeatedly sent 
letters to Varus, the governor of Syria, imploring his aid. Varus then took 
two legions and four troops of horse, and hm*ried up to Jerusalem. As 
usual, he passed up the coast by Berytus and Ptolemais. At Berytus he re- 
ceived an addition to his army of 1500 men; at Ptolemais also he recewed 
other reinforcements from auxiliaries, together with an army from the king 
of Arabia. 

8. From Ptolemais he dispatched Caius with a part of the army into Gal- 
ilee, who took and burnt the city of Sepphoris. Varus continued his march 
to Jerusalem, going up through Samaria, by the city of Sebaste. The map 
will show that his course thus far was nearly south. He passed on by the 
villages of Arus, Sampho, and Emmaus, which were all destroyed. Thus he 
iame to Jerusalem. 

9. This was the first invasion of Judea by the Roman armies, after the 
country become a Roman province. It occurred however several years too 
early to be reckoned among those invasions which affect the Exposition of the 
Lord's prophetic discourse. The history is taken up at this early period, 
(about A. D. 10,) for the purpose of keeping before us the whole history of 
that turbulent period which resulted in the overthrow of the Jewish nation. 

10. Varus having come into Jerusalem, the multitude of the Jews having 
cleared themselves of blame in the revolt, and the seditious having generally 
delivered themselves up before coming into conflict with Varus, the difficul- 
ty was soon settled, although 2000 of the seditious were crucified. Varus left 
one legion in the city as a garrison, and returned to Antioch. 

\ 11. Archelaus, it must be remembered, was not at this time settled in his 
government, though according to the will of Herod, he claimed to be king. 
But the Jews made many grievous complaints to the emperor against him, 
and requested to be placed under Roman governors. The emperor then di- 
vided the dominions of Herod the Great into three parts, giving to Archelaus 
one half, with the title of Ethnarch, and the rest to the other two sons of 
Herod, namely, Philip and Antipas, with the title of Tetrarchs. Archelaus' 
ethnarchy included Judea proper, and Samaria. Philip's tetrarchy included 
Batanea, Gaulonitis, Trachonitis, and Paneas. The tetrarchy of Antipas com- 
prised Galilee and Perea. 

12. After a turbulent and unsuccessful administration of nine years, Ar- 
chelaus was complained of by the Jews so bitterly, that the emperor deposed 
him from his government, and banished him to Vienne in Gaul. His ethnar- 
chy was now made a regular province, and was governed by officers sent from 
Rome. The first governor was Coponius. He continued to govern the prov- 
ince about three years, when he was succeeded by Marcus Ambivius. The 
latter was soon followed by Annius Rufus; and he by Valerius Gratus; and 
he, about A. D. 25, by Pontius Pilate. 

13. After this, Agrippa, a grandson of Herod the Great, was appointed 
king over the two tetrarchies ; Philip having deceased, and Antipas having 
been banished. So the Jewish dominions became divided now into one prov- 
ince, under Pontius Pilate, and one kingdom, under Agrippa. 

14. Previous to this time, Pilate had raised a dreadful commotion among 



APPENDIX. 449 

the Jews, by placing the Roman ensigns in Jerusalem. He was, however, 
soon induced to take them away. But now Caius, the emperor, affecting di- 
vine honors, desired to have his statue placed in the temple. This he knew 
would be an outrage to the feelings of the Jews. So he sent Petronius with 
an army, with instructions to place the image in the temple, if he had to do 
it by force. 

15. Petronius took the usual route into Judea, passing up through Antioch, 
and coming into the province from the north along the coast to Ptolemais. 
This second invasion did not, however, occasion any war ; for the Jews per- 
suaded Petronius to disobey his instructions ; and the statue was not car- 
ried into the city. 

16. About A. D. 41, Claudius being emperor, Agrippa was made king over 
all the country over which Herod had reigned. So the Jewish provinces be- 
came united into one kingdom again. Agrippa immediately began to build 
and strengthen the walls about Jerusalem. The walls he built were those 
which were standing at the time the city underwent its last siege. The king 
did not live to finish the walls, but after reigning three years, died, leaving 
one son still very young, having the same name as his father. It was this 
Agrippa who made the famous speech to dissuade the Jews from going to war 
with the Romans. 

17. The Jewish kingdom was once more formed into provinces, and gov- 
erned by Roman officers. The first was Cuspius Fadus : the next was Tibe- 
rius Alexander. Under these two governors the province of Judea appears 
to have been kept in peace. 

18. But under Cumanus, the next governor, the Jewish troubles begun 
afresh. At the feast of the Passover the governor placed, as was usually 
done, a cohort of soldiers upon the cloisters of the temple, to keep order 
among the innumerable multitudes which on such occasions came together. 
And at that time one of the soldiers wantonly and wickedly exposed his na- 
ked person in an obscene manner before the whole multitude in the temple. 

19 This, as might have been expected, and as was probably designed, had 
the effect to arouse the whole multitude to madness ; and the more inconsid- 
erate of the people at once made an attack upon the guard, with such weap- 
ons as they could obtain. The guard being reinforced, drove the Jews out 
of the temple. In a variety of ways 10,000 of the Jews were destroyed at 
that time. This turned the great festival into a season of mourning to the 
whole nation; for very many families in different parts of the country were 
in pome way connected with 10,000 that were killed. 

20. There was another difficulty that grew out of a robbery committed 
upon a servant in the employment of the emperor. And still another trouble 
was occasioned by the destruction of one of the holy books by a Roman sol- 
dier. And another difficulty resulted in consequence of the murder of a 
Galilean, who, with many others, was passing through Samaria to attend a 
festival at Jeimsalem. 

21. The governor having refused to attend to the matters at that time, the 
excited multitude hurried down from Jerusalem to Samaria^ and killed a mul 
titude of every age and sex, and burnt the villages of the Samaritans. At 

29 



450 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

this, the governor came with a troop of horsemen from Cesarea, and seized 
npon and destroyed a great number of the Jews. And the rulers of the Jews, 
being sensible of what would result from such seditions, went down from 
Jerusalem clothed with sackcloth, and with ashes on their heads, intreating 
their inconsiderate brethren " to have compassion on their country and tem- 
ple, their wives and children, and not bring the utmost dangers of de- 
struction upon them," by provoking "the Romans to come against Jerusalem." 

22. These troubles were not settled until the president of Syria interposed, 
and punished some on both sides. And complaints being made to the empe- 
ror against the governor Cumanus, he was removed, and Felix appointed in 
his place. This was about A. D. 53. Felix was governor over Galilee, Sa- 
maria, Perea, and the greater part of Judea. 

23. Agrippa had now several provinces added to his dominion, on account 
of his great popularity at Rome. He continued to reign during the war, and 
is frequently mentioned in the history. He was very influential, not only at 
Rome, but in the Jewish provinces. 

24. About these times the Jews were afflicted with many grievous internal 
commotions. The robbers in Jerusalem, and the false prophets and the sedi- 
tious there, as well as in other places, kept the country in a continual ferment, 
killing, robbing, and burning in all parts of the land. Felix and his army 
had continual employment to preserve the nation from utter ruin. And in 
Cesarea the Jews and Syrians were in perpetual conflict about their respect- 
ive rights in the city. 

25. Felix being now removed, A. D. 61, Festus was appointed in his stead. 
But soon after, he was succeeded by Albinus. Festus appears to have been a 
wise and good governor ; but his successor, Albinus, like Nero, who appointed 
him, was an abominable character. Under his tyranny the Jews suffered per- 
petual and almost incredible hardships. "At this time," says Josephus, " were 
the seeds sown that brought the city to destruction." 

26. "What has been said thus far does not directly affect the question under con- 
sideration. But it was deemed advisable to begin with the provincial history 
of these affairs, that we might have the whole matter to some extent spread 
before us. From the point now attained, however, the history will have an 
evident bearing upon the question at issue. The closest scrutiny of the reader 
is invited to what shall follow ; for it is certain that it only needs a common 
understanding of the facts in the case, to convince the candid that the usual 
impression respecting the matter at issue, is utterly erroneous. Let the reader 
proceed no farther without having before him a good map of Palestine. The 
design of the present effort is to demonstrate, absolutely to demonstrate, the 
entire fabulousness of the popular and almost universally received opinions 
respecting this subject. 

27. Albinus was succeeded by Floras, about A. D. 63. Floras proved to 
be a more wicked and impolitic governor than the former. Such a monster 
was he, that Josephus, (who wrote under the Roman eye,) after giving a 
dreadful character to the former, yet observes, "Although such was the char- 
acter of Albinus, yet did Floras, who succeeded him, demonstrate him to have 
been a most excellent person upon the comparison." 



APPENDIX. 451 

28. This governor countenanced the most attrocious villainies, practicing 
open robbery of persons and cities, and encouraging others to do the same, 
provided they gave to him a share of the spoil. Yet such were his subtilty 
and power, that no one dared to complain of him to the higher authorities. 
Perhaps no people were situated more disagreeably, in this respect, than the 
Jews ; and eertainly no people were less disposed to bear it The more con- 
siderate of the Jews not only grieved on account of their present calamities, 
but on account of the perceived certainty of an open rupture with the impe- 
rial power, which they well knew was able to overwhelm them. 

29. It was sufficiently evident that the governor desired and determined to 
provoke the nation to an open sedition against the Roman government. This 
was perceived by Bernice, the sister of King Agrippa, who was a friend to 
the Jews : and she personally besought Florus to spare the Jews. She even 
condescended to stand barefoot before the governor's tribunal, and intercede 
for the nation that was so abused and so exasperated. "But, honorable as 
were herself and her relations, such was the governor's rage, that Bernice had 
difficulty in saving her own life by flight 

30. The men of power among the Jews, knowing very well the fatal result 
that would follow from war with Rome, " were affrighted, together with the 
high priests, and rent their garments, and fell down before each of them, [the 
seditious,] and bes^aght them to leave off, and not provoke Florus to some h> 
curable procedure, besides what they had already suffered." They prevailed 
with the multitude, and tranquility resulted. But "Florus was troubled that 
the disturbances were over, and endeavored to kindle that flame again." 

31. His next attempt to provoke the Jews into war was so likely to succeed, 
that as the historian says, "At this time it was that every priest, and every 
servant of God, brought out the holy vessels, and the ornamental garments 
wherein they used to minister about sacred things. The harpers also, and the 
singers of hymns, came out with their instruments of music, and fell down 
before the multitude, [who were going to resist the Romans,] and begged of 
them that they would preserve those holy ornaments to them, and not provoke 
the Romans to carry off those sacred treasures. You might also see then the 
high priests themselves with dust sprinkled in great plenty upon their heads, 
with bosoms deprived of any covering but what was rent ; these besought 
every one of the eminent men by name, and the multitude in common, that 
they would not for a small offence betray their country to those that were 
desirous to have it laid waste." 

32. A horrible tumult soon resulted, which was designed and effected by 
Florus and his soldiers, in order to drive the Jews into desperation and sedi- 
tion. This tumult did not result from any improper action on the part of the 
Jews ; all that they did was to make a complaint against the governor, when 
they saw that his soldiers would not return their civil salutation. The govern- 
or and his soldiers had fixed upon this as a signal to fall upon the Jews and 
kill them. 

33. " However, Florus contrived another way to oblige the Jews to begin 
the war, and sent to Cestius, [the President of Syria,] and accused the Jews 
falsely of revolting from the Roman government, and imputed the beginning 



452 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

of the former fight to them, and pretended that they had been the authors of 
that disturbance, wherein they were only the sufferers." The governors of 
Jerusalem also wrote to Cestius complaining of Florus, and Bernice did so like- 
wise. Whereupon, Cestms thought proper to send one of his tribunes up to 
Jerusalem to inquire into the matter. 

34. The tribune, at Jamnia, had a consultation with King Agrippa, who was 
returning from Alexandria, The principal men of the Jews, also, met him at 
the same time, and besought Agrippa to aid them in their extremity. The 
multitude also came down from Jerusalem, together with the widows of those 
who had been killed ; and, with loud lamentations and complaints, besought 
the king to assist them. After inspecting their affairs, and commending them 
for their fidelity to the Romans, the tribune returned to Cestius. 

35. King Agrippa perceiving that the Jews were on the point of breaking 
out into open rebellion against the Roman government, addressed the Jews 
with a long, eloquent, and powerful speech, the design of which was to dis- 
suade them from going to war with Rome, and to induce them to submit qui- 
etly to their fate. He did succeed in moving them to pay to the emperor the 
tribute which was due him, and also to restore the communication between 
the citadel and the temple, which, in some of the recent conflicts, had been 
destroyed by the Jews themselves, by burning a part of the cloister of the 
temple. He also exhorted them to obey their governor. But at this the mul- 
titude were so enraged, that they made an assault upon the king, and caused 
him to be put out of the city. So he returned to his own dominions, and left 
the Jews to their fate. 

36. At this time some of the more turbulent of the Jews assaulted and took 
the fortress of Masada, and killed the Roman garrison. At the same time the 
officiating priests were persuaded to reject the sacrifice of the emperor, which 
it had been customary to offer. "This," says Josephus, "was the true begin- 
ning of our war with the Romans." The more prudent part of the Jews did 
everything they could to prevent the war; but the rest were fully determin- 
ed upon rebellion. The dispute among them on this point ripened into civil 
war, and they fought with one another seven days. This was about 
A. D. 64. 

37. Things continued to grow worse and worse. The seditious among the 
Jews, and the robbers who abounded in the city, banded together and got 
possession of the temple. They also burnt the palace of the high priest, the 
palaces of Bernice and King Agrippa, and the place where the public records 
were kept. They then made an assault upon the citidel and took it, and 
killed the Roman garrison. They then assaulted and besieged the soldiers 
which Agrippa had sent to assist those Jews who were opposed to the 
war. 

38. During these occurrences, one of the leading robbers led a party out to 
the fortress of Masada, and broke open Herod's armory, and supplied the des- 
titute with arms. The war continued to rage, and the rest of the Roman sol- 
diers were besieged. Upon the promise of having their lives spared, they 
were induced to surrender ; but as soon as the Jews got them into their pow- 
er they murdered the whole of them, in direct violation of the terms of capit- 



APPENDIX. 



453 



illation. This filled the more considerate Jews with alarm and grief. They 
knew what would evitably result ; and they " made public lamentations, when 
they saw that such occasions were afforded for a war as were incurable." 

39. At precisely the same hour that the Jews at Jerusalem murdered the 
Roman garrison, the people in Cesarea fell upon the Jews and killed 20,000 
of them ; and many that fled were overtaken, captured, and chained in the 
galleys. At this massacre, the whole Jewish nation were enraged, and terri- 
bly revenged themselves upon their enemies. "They divided themselves into 
several parties, and laid waste the villages of the Syrians, and their neighbor- 
ing cities, Philadelphia and Sebonitis, and Gerasa, and Pella, and Scythopo- 
lis ; and after them Gadara, and Hippo6. And falling upon Gaulonitis, some 
cities they destroyed there ; and some they set on fire ; and then went into 
Kedusa, belonging to the Tyrians, and to Ptolemais, and to Gaba, and to Ce- 
sarea. Nor was Sebaste, or Ascalon able to oppose the violence with which 
they were attacked." 

40. "And when they had burnt these to the ground, they entirely demol- 
ished Anthedon and Gaza. Many also of the villages that were about every 
one of these cities were plundered ; and an immense slaughter was made of 
the men who were caught in them." " The Syrians were even with the Jews 
in the multitude of the men whom they slew." And the war raged furiously 
in every part of the land. Thus the great, and — to the Jews — fatal, war 
was fully begun ; for those whom the Jews destroyed were subjects of the 
empire. But all this took place before any of the great Roman armies were 
brought into the country. 

41. The Jews in Alexandria in Egypt were also destroyed about this time. 
And in their destruction we, for the first time during the war, hear of a 
regular Roman army being sent to destroy them. There were two legions 
stationed in Alexandria, and to these were added 5,000 others who happened 
to come in from Lybia. This army fell upon the Jews in Alexandria and de- 
stroyed 50,000 of them, not sparing either age or sex. This may be regarded 
as the first flight of the Roman eagle, hastening to his prey ; it was not at 
Jerusalem, nor in Judea ; but in Alexandria in Egypt. Neither was it from 
east to west that the Romans marched ; but those who came to assist in the 
massacre, came from west to east ; from Lybia to Alexandria. 

42. And now Cestius, the President of Syria, who had a general supervis- 
ion of the Jewish provinces, deemed it expedient to be doing something to 
put down the general revolt. His movements constituted the second flight of 
the Roman eagle during this war, but the first flight against Judea and its 
capital. We will now notice particularly the march and conquest of this first 
invasion during the war in question. 

43. Cestius took out of Antioch one legion entire, together with 2,000 from 
<;ach of the others, and six cohorts of footmen, and four troops of horse. In 
addition to these, King Antiochus sent 2,000 horsemen, and 3,000 footmen, 
with 3,000 archers ; and King Agrippa sent 3,000 footmen, and 1,000 horse- 
men; and King Sohemus followed with about 3,000 footmen and archers, and 
1,000 horsemen. And thus he marched from Antioch up along the coast in a 



4:54 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

southerly direction to Ptolemais ; and other auxiliaries came to him from the 
free cities as he was on his march. This was in A. D. 66. 

44. "We now find him at Ptolemais, in the north-western, portion of the Jew- 
ish country. To this rendezvous he came from the north From this position 
he began his further marches, and extended his conquests. It will be seen at 
a glance, that his future operations must be — not from east to west — but, in 
relation to these points, in a precisely opposite direction. The history will 
show us his subsequent marches and conquests, 

45. From Ptolemais, going south-east, he went and destroyed the city of 
Zebulon. Then he overran all that part of the country, destroying the villages 
all around, and returned to Ptolemais. Thus the invasion was from the north; 
the first march to battle was south-east ; and the conquests began in the north' 
western section of the provinces. Every one can see the total erroneousness 
of the usual representation of this matter. 

46. From Ptolemais, again, he departed, and went south to Cesarea. From 
thence he sent a part of his army still further south to Joppa. This city the 
army took by surprise, and burnt, killing 8,400 of the Jews. A part of the 
army was also sent into the " toparchy of Narbatene, adjoining Gesarea, who 
iestroyed the country, and slew a great multitude of its people ; they also 
blundered what they had, and burnt their villages." Another part of the 
w:my was sent to Sepphoris, the capital of Galilee, where they were received 
irith acclamations by the people, and the city was saved. A portion of the 
people, however, fled to the mountains in the middle of Galilee, but were 
pursued and destroyed. That portion of the army then returned to Cesarea. 

4*7. Thus have we seen another of the expeditions of the army, after it had 
begun its conquests. It was three-fold in its nature ; but in no instance what- 
ever, was there a march to a battle or to a siege from east to west ; but in every 
instance it was in other directions. And this second stage of the conquests, 
so far from its being in the east, that it might extend westward, was confined to 
the western section of the country ; and in every instance, so far as east and 
west were concerned, it was directly opposite to the course affirmed by the 
commentators. 

48. Now " Cestius moved with his whole army to Antipatris" In this 
movement he went a little east of south. From this place he sent a part of 
the army to fight against some Jews who had gotten together in the tower of 
Aphek. This was on the river Kishon, directly north of Antipatris. But the 
Jews were dispersed before coming to a battle ; and the Romans burnt their 
camp, and the villages that were about it. This took place in the northern 
section of the provinces, and a little further east from the coast than appears 
to have been visited previously ; for the conquest progressed southerly and 
easterly. 

49. The next general march was to Lydda, south of Antipatris. But Ces- 
tius found the city empty, for the people had gone up to Jerusalem to the 
feast of tabernacles. A few were destroyed, the city burnt, and the army went 
on toward the capital. " Ascending by Bethoren, they pitched their camp at 
a certain place called Gabao, fifty furlongs distant from Jerusalem." 



APPENDIX. 455 

50. This being the first approach to Jerusalem by this great army, it is 
important to notice that it was by no means sudden or unexpected. The Jews 
knew that Cestius was conquering his way gradually up the coast, and east- 
erly toward the heart of the country, — not in the direction the commenta- 
tors say, — but as nearly opposite as the nature of the country permitted. 
Thus far we have tracked the approach to the country, the invasion of it, the 
portions first conquered., the general and divisional marches, the final approach 
to Jerusalem, and we find nothing, absolutely nothing, either in unexpected- 
ness, suddenness, or direction of approach and conquest, that in the least fa- 
vors the popular fancy of the commentators; but, on the other hand, we do 
find everything as nearly opposite to the usual representation as the nature 
of the case admitted. 

51. The army was now encamped a few miles to the north-west of Jerusa- 
lem, preparing to march against the city. The Jews in great numbers were 
assembled at the feast of tabernacles. But, seeing the war approaching to 
their metropolis, they abandoned their feasting, took to their arms, and sallied 
forth to attack the Romans in their encampment. This they did so effectual- 
ly, that they endangered the whole army ; and after killing 515 of the Ro- 
mans, and losing 22 of their own number, they returned to the city, and 
prepared for the coming of the Roman army. Cestius continued at Gabao 
three days after the battle : and the Jews improved the time by seizing upon 
the elevated parts of the city, and placing guards at the gates; "and appear- 
ed openly resolved not to rest, when once the Romans should begin to march." 

52. The Jews were so thoroughly apprized of the coming of the Romans, 
and had made such preparations to resist them, not only in Jerusalem, but in 
the mountainous regions around, that King Agrippa began to be alarmed lest 
the Romans should meet with ill success ; and the Jews who seemed to con- 
trol the affairs in the city, were determined to resist the invaders. The state- 
ment of Josephus is : " And now when Agrippa observed that even the affairs 
of the Romans were likely to be in danger, while such an immense multitude 
of their enemies [the enemies of the Romans] had seized upon the mountains 
round about, he determined to try what the Jews would agree to by words, 
as thinking he should cause the sober part of them to separate themselves 
from the opposite party." So he sent to the Jews two men with whom the 
Jews were on terms of acquaintance, to make propositions of reconciliation 
to the Romans. But the seditious Jews immediately fell upon the ambassa- 
dors and killed one before he had said a word, and wounded the other so that 
he was only saved by flight. The other party among the Jews, however, 
were angry at this couduct of the seditious, and they immediately came to 
blows among themselves. 

63. "But now Cestius, observing that the disturbances that were begun 
among the Jews, afforded him a proper opportunity to attack them, took his 
whole army along with him, and put the Jews to flight, and pursued them 
to Jerusalem. He then pitched his camp upon the elevation called Scopus, 
which was distant seven furlongs from the city ; yet did not he assault them 
in three days time, out of expectation that those within might, perhaps, yield a 
little." 



4:56 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

54. Here we may pause again, and inquire how the popolar view of the 
commentators agrees with the facts thus far. The camp of the Romans is now 
less than a mile north of the city. Did they approach "from east to west? ' 
By no means: it was from north to south; and when they deviated from a 
due southerly direction, they invariably inclined from west to east. So much 
for this point : now for the other : "Was their coming unlooked for and sudden, 
like the lightning flashing from one end of the heavens to the other ? He 
who can show any — the least — foundation for such a comparison, must be 
equal to any undertaking, however difficult. We behold the army approach- 
ing from a position 300 miles to the north, moving so slowly as to permit all 
the footmen and cumbersome military machines to keep in company : halting 
regularly along the coast and among the mountains ; pausing to receive and 
arrange the constantly arriving auxiliaries ;' and finally establishing a general 
rendezvous in the north-western section of the invaded territory ; from thence 
going out to destroy and pillage, and returning again ; then slowly and regu- 
larly approaching the capital, pausing to conquer as they advance : finally 
approaching and encamping a few miles distant, and there being themselves 
first attacked by the Jerusalem Jews ; tarrying several days, and then advancing 
to their besieging encampment, seven furlongs north of the city ; and there 
continuing in plain sight of all the people until the fourth day ; then, in cool 
} lood, putting the vast army into regular battle array, and marching delib- 
erately into the unfortified suburbs of the city, burning a part, and then com- 
ing into the upper portion, and deliberately pitching his camp. He who can 
see in all of this anything to compare with the instantaneous flash of the 
lighining, filling a whole hemisphere in a moment of time, must be more 
quick to discover analogies than the common sort of people. 

55. As remarked previously, on the fourth day of encamping on Mount 
Scopus, Cestius brought his army into the undefended suburbs of the city, 
and set them on fire. He then marched into the upper city, and pitched his 
camp, as it would appear, outside of the walls, opposite to the royal palace. 
He had not yet got into the city proper, where the palace, temple, and cita- 
del were. And Josephus thinks he might at that time have gotten with 
in the walls, if he had attempted it by force. But on account of many of 
his officers having been corrupted by Floras, he was diverted from beginning 
his attack on the walls, and deferred it from day to day, while the moderate 
party among the Jews were contriving and negotiating to get Cestius into the 
city without coming to battle. Josephus says, "Whence it was that he de 
layed the matter so long, that the seditious perceived the treachery" of the 
other party, and began an attack upon them, which appears to have been the 
signal for the Romans themselves to begin their assault upon the walls. Was 
there anything like the rapid lightning in all this? If there was, then what 
ordinary military movement may not be compared to the electric blaze ? 

56. "Thus did the Romans make their attack against the wall for five days, 
but to no purpose." Then he changed his plan, and, selecting his choice men, 
attempted to break into the temple at the northern quarter of it; but the 
Jews beat them off from the cloisters, and repulsed them several times when 
they were gotten near to the wall. The Romans persevered, however, until 



APPENDIX. 4:57 

they had undermined the walL and got all things ready for setting fire to the 
gate of the temple. 

57. " And now it was that a horrible fear seized upon the seditious, inso- 
much that many of them ran out of the city, as though it were to be taken 
immediately ; but the people [of the other party] upon this took courage, and 
where the wicked part of the city gave ground, thither did they come, in 
order to set open the gates, and to admit Cestius as their benefactor, who, had 
he but continued the siege a little longer, had certainly taken the city ; but 
it was, I suppose, owing to the aversion God had already at the city and the 
sanctuary, that he was hindered from putting an end to the war that very 
day. It then happened that Cestius was not conscious either how the be- 
sieged despaired of success, nor how courageous the people were for him; 
and so he recalled his soldiers from the place, and by despairing of any ex- 
pectation of taking it, without having received any disgrace, he retired from 
the city, without any reason in the world." 

58. "But when the robbers perceived this unexpected retreat of his, they 
resumed their courage, and ran after the hinder parts of his army, and destroy- 
ed a considerable number both of their horsemen and footmen." It appears 
now to have been evening. The army remained during the night in their 
entrenchments, and the next day they began their retreat. The retreat was 
soon changed into a flight; and the Jewish warriors, hanging upon the flanks 
and rear of the army, did them immense injury. The Romans finally succeed- 
ed in reaching their former camp at Gabao, and continued there two days in 
great alarm and distress. But as the Jews were continually increasing in all 
parts round about the Romans, Cestius perceived that he must fly from the 
country as soon as possible. So he commanded them to destroy and cast 
away everything that might hinder their flight, excepting their darts and 
maehines, which they retained for their own use. 

59. Then the second retreat began, chased and harrassedby the Jews, until 
it became a disorderly, ruinous flight, and nothing but the coming of night 
saved the army from entire destruction. Cestius now despairing of any other 
method of getting away, selected four hundred of his most courageous men, 
and stationed them at the strongest of their fortifications, telling them to erect 
their ensigns in the morning, and make the Jews believe that the whole army 
was there. Then, under cover of the darkness of the night, with all possible 
silence und haste, the rest of the army fled for their lives, leaving the 400 to 
perish. 

60. When the Jews perceived in the morning that the greater part of the 
army was gone, they first slew the 400 that remained, and continued the pur- 
suit, without overtaking them, as far as Antipatris. The Romans left their 
engines, and other instruments of war all along the way ; and thus succeeded 
in saving the most of their lives. But 5,300 footmen, and 380 horsemen per- 
ished. After spoiling the dead, and gathering up what the Romans had 
thrown away in their flight, the Jews, having lost but few of their men, re- 
turned running and singing to the city. Thus ended the first invasion and 
sie,ge. 



458 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 



SYNOPSIS CONTINUED. 

Part II. — Period — From the Flight of Cestius to the final Seige of 

Jerusalem by Titus. 

*■ 

1. After his disastrous defeat and flight, " Cestius sent Saul and his friends, 
at their own desire, to Achaia, to Kero, to inform him of the great distress they 
were in, and to lay the blame of their kindling the war upon Florus, as ho- 
ping to alleviate his own danger, by provoking his indignation against 
Florus." 

2. In the meantime, the people of Damascus, when they were informed of 
the destruction of the Romans, set about the slaughter of those Jews that 
were among them." They had already shut up the Jews in a place from 
which they could neither escape nor defend themselves ; and in one hour the 
people of Damascus fell upon them and cut the throats of 10,000 of them. 

i 3. The Jews at Jerusalem expected the Romans to return again, and made all 
possible preparation to repel them. The second Roman invasion was neither un- 
looJcedfor, nor unprepared for. The first effort of the Jews was to become 
united among themselves. So they overbore by violence such as would still 
favor the Romans, and others they persuaded by entreaties to join in the re- 
bellion, untiL as it would appear, they were wholly united in their purpose 
of resisting the Roman power. They then got together in great numbers in 
the temple, and made their preparations for the expected war. 

4. They first chose " a great many generals " for the command of their for- 
ces. Then they appointed governors to take charge of all things in the city, 
" ipith a particular charge to repair the walls of the city ;" for the war was not 
unexpected. Then they appointed generals for all other portions of the coun- 
try. Two were appointed for Idumea, and the governor of that section was 
instructed to obey them. Another general was sent to command at Jericho ; 
another to Perea ; another to the toparchy of Thamna ; another had charge of 
the toparchies of Gofnitica and Acrabatene ; and Josephtjs, the author of the 
history, was appointed general of both the Galilees and the strong city of 
Gamala. 

5. " So every one of the other commanders administered the affairs of his 
portion with what alacrity and prudence they were masters of." Every one 
seemed intent on doing his best to prepare for the expected contest. Josephus 
immediately went to his post in Galilee, took measures to secure the confi- 
dence and cooperation of the people, chose a great number of the most prudent 
and eminent among them to aid him in municipal and judicial affairs, and, as 
a prudent and enterprising governor, took every practicable measure to secure 
the peace, union, and efficiency of the people. 

6. Having done this, to quote his own words, he "betook himself to make 
provision for their safety against external violence ; and as he knew the Romans 



APPENDIX. 459 

would fall upon Galilee" he went busily to work to fortify the country; he 
built walls about the principal cities in upper and lower Galilee ; and about 
some of the cities in Gaulanitis ; besides fortifying some of the caves and other 
strong places of natural defence. Everywhere throughout the country the 
people were by many thousands at work preparing for the next invasion, by 
strengthening their places of dwelling and retreat. 

*7. Nor was this all: Josephus "also got together an army out of Galilee 
of more than a hundred thousand young men, all of which he armed with the 
old weapons which he had collected together and prepared for them. And 
when he considered that the Roman power became invincible, chiefly by thei* 
readiness in obeying orders, and the constant exercise of their arms, he des- 
paired of teaching these his men the use of their arms which was to be ob- 
tained by experience ; but observing that their readiness in obeying orders 
was owing to the multitude of their officers, he made his partitions in his 
army more after the Roman manner, and appointed a great many subalterns. 
He also distributed the soldiers into various classes, whom he put under cap 
tains of tens, and captains of hundreds, and then captains of thousands ; and, 
besides these, he had commanders of larger bodies of men. He also taught 
them to give the signals one to another, and to call and recall the soldiers by 
the trumpets ; how to expand the wings of an army, and make them wheel 
about ; and when one wing hath had success, to turn again and assist those 
that were hard set, and to join in the defence of what had most suffered. He 
also continually instructed them in what concerned the courage of the soul, 
and the hardiness of the body ; and, above all, he exercised them for war, by 
declaring to them distinctly the good order of the Romans, and that they were 
to fight with men who by the strength of their bodies, and courage of their souls, 
had conquered in a manner the whole habitable earth." 

8. This long extract has been selected as a good specimen of the manner in 
which the Jews prepared themselves for the anticipated invasion. Out of the 
100,000, Josephus chose for active service 60,000 footmen, and a body of horse- 
men, besides 4,500 mercenaries, and a body guard of 600. The rest of the so 
diers were employed in the cities, doing appropriate work, or in procuring 
provisions for those in actual service. 

9. In Jerusalem, too, the same warlike preparations were going on. " They 
betook themselves to make preparations for the war with the Romans." 
" The high priest Ananus, and as many of the men of power as were not in the 
interest of the Romans, both repaired the walls, and made a great many war- 
like instruments, insomuch that in all parts of the city darts and all sorts of 
armor were upon the anvil." These preparations for war were a great grief 
to the more prudent part of the people, for they knew that the Romans 
would come again, and they expected nothing else but the overthrow and des- 
olation of the city. In the face of all the commentators previously quoted, 
the writer here boldly affirms, that the coming of the Romans was not, as the 
lightning, either sudden, unprepared for, or unexpected. 

10. When the emperor Nero heard of the state of things in Judea he was 
greatly troubled, and scarcely knew what to do. He finally determined to 
send the veteran and successful general Vespasian into Judea, with such for- 



4:60 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

ces and provisions for " so mighty a war," as "would be likely to insure success. 
Vespasian had succeeded in re-subjecting the Germans and Britons, and Nero 
did not misjudge in supposing him equal to the task of re-subjecting the Jews. 
The emperor, Vespasian, and Titus all appear to have been at this time in 
Achaia. 

11. From this point both Vespasian and Titus started for Judea: Titus waa 
sent across the sea to Alexandria, "to bring back with him from thence the 
5th and the 10th legions;" but Vespasian himself went by land into Syria. 
His course was first around the Egean sea, then across the Hellespont into 
Asia, then through Asia Minor, around the northeast corner of the Mediter- 
ranean ; thus coming by land into Syria, and halted at Antioch, 300 miles 
north of Jerusalem. Here he found King Agrippa with his forces waiting for 
him; and here he gathered together the Roman soldiers, with a considerable 
number of auxiliaries from the neighboring kings. This being the second 
invading army, we will from this point mark their advances and conquests, 
with the assertions of the commentators before us. 

12. "And now Vespasian took along with him his army from Antioch, . . . 
and marched to Ptolemais." Thus we perceive that he came to the Jewish 
country — not from east to west — but up the coast from north to south. He is 
now ready to begin his conquests — not in the east, as the commentators say, 
but in the north-west. Here the citizens of Sepphoris, the largest city in Gal- 
ilee, met him in peace, and received a Roman garrison to protect them from 
the Jews who were determined on the war. Soon after this, Josephus made 
an attempt to get the city back into the hands of the Jews, but did not suc- 
ceed. "By this means he provoked the Romans to treat the country accord- 
ing to the law of war;" and they overran the country about, "so that Galilee 
was all over filled with fire and blood." Here in the north, beginning from 
the west, began this campaign of conquests. 

13. "While Vespasian continued his headquarters at Ptolemais on the coast, 
Titus arrived from Alexandria in Egypt, bringing with him the 5th and 10th 
legions for which he had been sent, and the two armies were then united into 
one. Eighteen cohorts followed these legions ; some came also from Cesarea ; 
some from Syria ; some came from the Kings Antiochus, Agrippa, and Sohe- 
mus ; and 6,000 came from the King of Arabia. "The whole army, including 
the auxiliaries sent by the kings, as well horsemen as footmen, when all were 
united together, amounted to 60,000, besides the servants, who as they fol- 
lowed in vast numbers, so because they had been trained up in war with the 
rest, ought not to be distinguished from the fighting men." 

14. Here, then, is the grand army, concentrated on the coast, in the north- 
west quarter of the Jewish territories. The larger portion of them came into 
the country from the north; two legions came from the south-west, and not one, 
bo far as the history shows, from the east ; for the Arabians who are spoken 
of, and the other auxiliaries, joined Vespasian at Antioch, as will appear from 
B. 3. c. 1, sec. 3, compared with c. 2, sec. 4, and c. 4, sec. 2. 

15. The next expedition was against Jotapata, in the north part of Galilee. 
Only a part of the army was employed in this enterprise, and were led on by 
Placidus, He failed in his attempt, and retired. Vespasian then led his army 



APPENDIX. 461 

into Galilee, the Jews everywhere flying before him into the cities which had 
not yet surrendered. First he went to Gadara, and destroyed it, and all the 
towns about it. This Gadara was not the Gadara on the east of Jordan ; we 
have an account of the subjection of that city in B. 4, c. 7, s. 3. There was 
another Gadara south of Cesarea, near the coast, as may be seen by consulting 
Smiley's " Scripture Geography," and also the map in Watson's Dictionary. 
But this Gadara appears to have been as much too far south, as the former was 
to the east, to have agreed with the present position and operations of the 
army, which was at this time in the region of Jotapata. The city in question 
was probably Gabara, which was not far from Jotapata, and in the region first 
invaded by the army at this time. 

16. Vespasian then led the whole army against Jotapata, into which, after 
a few days, Josephus himself entered to aid in defending the place. This town 
was nearly impregnable, and withstood the whole force of the Komans for 
seven weeks. The city was then taken, and the inhabitants found in it destroy- 
ed. Josephus himself was taken prisoner at this time, and was kept with the 
Roman army during the war. During the siege of this city, a party was sent 
against the adjacent city of Japha, which was destroyed, with all its inhabi- 
tants. At the same time another party was sent against a multitude that had 
gotten together on Mount Gerizim, in Samaria. 

17. Vespasian and the army then returned to Ptolemais. From thence they 
went up the coast south to Cesarea, where two legions were left for winter quar- 
ters. Two legions were also sent to winter in Sythopolis, in the south-eastern 
part of Galilee. About this time a party was sent up the coast as far as 
Joppa, which the Jews had repaired, and undertook to defend against the Ro- 
mans. The city was again taken, and the surrounding region laid waste. 

18. Vespasian then took that portion of the army which had not already 
gone into winter quarters, and went to Cesarea Philippi, on the head waters 
of the Jordan, it being the capital of King Agrippa's dominions. There he 
was feasted by Agrippa, and his army refreshed for twenty days. Hearing 
then that Tiberias and Tarrichea, (both situated on the western coast of the 
sea of Galilee, and both belonging to Agrippa's kingdom,) had revolted, he 
undertook an expedition against them on Agrippa's account. So Titus was 
sent to Cesarea on the Mediterranean, to bring the two legions from thence to 
Sythopolis, which was "in the neighborhood of Tiberias," to which place 
Vespasian himself also came, and waited for Titus. "With three legions he 
then marched towards Tiberias, and pitched his camp thirty furlongs off, at a 
place called Sennabris. 

19. After an act of treachery on the part of some of the Tiberians, the city 
was finally surrendered peaceably to the Romans, and the inhabitants spared. 
Tarrichea resisted the Romans ; but was at last taken, after a long and terri- 
ble struggle both on the land and on the lake. 6,500 were slain during the 
battles; 1,200 were killed after the city was taken ; 6,000 young men were 
sent to Nero, to be used in digging through the Corinthian isthmus ; 30,000 
others were sold as slaves, besides some who were given to King Agrippa. 

20. The next expedition was against Gamala, east of the Jordan, which seems 
to have been the first time any conquests were attempted east of the river* 



£62 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

But all the places in Galilee, excepting Gischala, and a fortification upon 
Mount Tabor, had already been subdued, or surrendered ; and the plan of 
Vespasian was to subdue all the north parts of the Jewish country, before 
going south towards Jerusalem. Therefore, haying subjected all the north- 
voest, he crosses the Jordan to subdue the north-east During the siege of Gamala 
a troop of six hundred horsemen were sent to destroy those that had seized 
upon Mount Tabor. If this party of horsemen went to Tabor from Gamala, as 
it -seems likely, then it must be admitted that in one instance, a party of six 
hundred marched from east to west in going from the siege of Gamala to de- 
stroy a company upon Mount Tabor. This instance is distinctly noticed and 
admitted, that the full benefit of it may be applied to the defence of the seve- 
ral commentators who have found it so important to apply the illustration of 
the flashing lightning to the march and conquests of the Romans. Perhaps 
our Saviour, overlooking all the general marches, and sweeping conquests of 
the main army, had this expedition of Placidu's 600 horsemen so distinctly in 
Tiew, as to make it the general characteristic of the whole war during the 
three general invasions I 

21. After a long and bloody siege, Gamala was finally taken ; and the whole 
population perished, either by the Romans, or by self-destruction. This hap- 
pened on the 23d day of Tisri, answering to the latter part of our September, 
or the first part of October. Soon after this, Gischala, the last unsubdued 
place in Galilee, was surrendered to the Romans ; "And thus was all Galilee 
taken, but this not until after it had cost the Romans much pains before it 
could be taken by them." 

22. About this time occurred some of the most terrible commotions among 
the Jews in Jerusalem, in consequence of the rival leaders, and conflicting 
parties. The Jews at Jerusalem, and in some other places in the country, 
seem to have suffered about as much from dissensions among themselves, as 
they did from the efforts of the Romans. This state of their affairs was known 
everywhere, for as many as could fled from the capital, and carried the news 
of the dreadful commotions among the desperate Jews. 

23. "And now all the rest of the commanders of the Romans deemed this 
sedition among enemies to be of great advantage to them, and were very earnest 
to march to the city ; and they urged Vespasian, as their lord and general in all 
cases, to make haste ;" but Vespasian would not comply with their counsel, 
and purposely delay his march upon Jerusalem, for reasons which satisfied his 
army that he was wise in refusing their advice. 

24. Many of those that fled from Jerusalem also urged Vespasian to pro- 
ceed at once to that city, and, by taking the place himself, prevent the total 
destruction of the people from conflicts among themselves. " Vespasian did, 
indeed, already pity the calamities these men were in, and arose, in appear- 
ance, as though he were going to besiege Jerusalem, but in reality to deliver 
them from a [worse] siege they were already under. However, he was obliged 
to overthrow what remained elsewhere, and to leave nothing out of Jerusalem 
behind him that might interrupt him in that siege." 

25. The next general movement of the army was south to Gadara, the 
metropolis of Perea. This was on the 4th day of Adar, answering to our Feb* 



APPENDIX. 463 

ruary and March ; and it -was nearly five months after the taking of Gamala, 
So slowly did the war proceed, and so resolutely did the Roman general gov- 
ern his operations by the counsels of prudence which often restrained the rage 
and zeal of his army. 

26. Gadara was surrendered to Vespasian without resistance, and many of 
those who were anxious to continue the war fled from the place. To destroy 
these, the general sent Placidus with 500 horse and 3,000 foot, while the rest 
of the army returned to Cesarea. Placidus continued in Perea, on the east 
of Jordan, conquering his way up southward, until all east of Jordan as far 
south as the Dead Sea, was subdued. In a word, the Romans had now con- 
quered two portions of the Jewish provinces, — Galilee, in the north-west, and 
Perea, in the north-east. The commencement and progress of the conquests 
are as distinctly discoverable as the route of the invasion. They begun the 
conquests on the west side of the northern portion of the country. The gene- 
ral direction of the conquest of this portion was from west to east, precisely 
opposite to the direction so much insisted upon by many of the commentators. 
The general direction of the conquest of the next portion was from north to 
south, — from Gamala, on the sea of Galilee, to the Dead Sea. 

27. While Vespasian was refreshing his army at Cesarea, he heard of the 
commotions of the Roman empire in other places, and of the revolt from Nero. 
This excited him to go on more briskly with the war, that he might finish his 
work in the eastern parts of the empire, and be ready to act elsewhere. But 
as the winter still hindered him from going into the field, he begun to repair 
and garrison the places which had been conquered, and in the beginning of 
the spring he resumed his conquests. 

28. His first march was from Cesarea south to Antipatris. There he tarried 
two days, and on the third day proceeded onward toward Jerusalem, destroy- 
ing the country as he advanced. Laying waste the toparchy of Thamnas, he 
passed on to Lydda and to Jamnia. He has now conquered his way up the 
western border of the country, from north to south, and is now at Jamnia, on 
the coast west of Jerusalem. From this place he went directly toward Jeru- 
salem, and about half-way to the city, and stopped at Emmaus. [See Robin- 
son's Map.] This last march was from west to east, bearing a little to the south. 
Here' he seized upon the passages leading to the capital, fortified his camp, 
left the fifth legion for a garrison, and marched to the toparchy of Bethlephon. 
It is difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the precise location of this topar- 
chy. It is quite certain, however, that it was on the route of Vespasian's 
progress from Emmaus up southerly into Idumea. This will be evident from 
the next sentence that follows the mention of this toparchy : " He then de- 
stroyed that place and the neighboring places by fire, and fortified at proper 
places the strongholds all about Idumea" 

29. He then seized upon two villages that " were in the very midst of Idu- 
mea," and slew above 10,000, carried into captivity above 1,000, and drove the 
rest of the multitude away. Leaving there " no small part of his own forces," 
who overrun and laid waste the whole mountainous country, he returned 
with the rest of his army to Emmaus ; and from thence he passed down 
through Samaria, and pitched his camp near Sychem. The next day he went 



§ 

464 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

to Jericho. In this march he went south east, and we now find him nearly 
east of Jerusalem. 

30. This was on the 3d day of Sivan, answering to our May and June. Thus 
two or three months had been occupied in the campaign of conquest on the 
west and south of Jerusalem. At Jericho Vespasian was joined by the forces 
that had subdued Perea, and the army was once more ready to begin another 
campaign. The country all " round about Jerusalem," as Josephus says, had 
been fortified ; and now Vespasian erected and garrisoned citadels in Jericho, 
and Adida, and sent a body of horse and foot against Gerasa, which was situ- 
ated to the north-east across the Jordan. That city and the neighboring villa- 
ges were all destroyed, and the detachment returned. 

31. Josephus informs us of the state of the conquests at this juncture: 
"And now the war having gone through all the mountainous country, and all 
the plain country also, those that were at Jerusalem were deprived cf the lib- 
erty of going out of the city : for as to such as had a mind to desert, they 
were watched by the zealots ; and as to such as were not yet on the side of 
the Romans, their army kept them in, by encompassing the city round about 
on all sides." It is evident, however, that this does not mean that the city 
was besieged, but that the whole surrounding country was in the hands of the 
Romans, and that access to the city, and escape from it, were not possible, ex- 
cept by the permission of the Romans. 

32. Instead of marching against the metropolis at this time, Vespasian went 
back to Cesarea, for the purpose, it would seem, of getting all his available 
forces together, and preparing them for the siege of Jerusalem. Then he 
heard of the death of Nero, and of the commotions in various parts of the 
empire. " "Wherefore Vespasian put off at first his expedition against Jeru- 
salem, and stood waiting whither the empire would be transferred after the 
death of Nero." The remainder of the summer and the autumn were spent 
in this suspense and delay. In the winter King Agrippa and Titus started for 
Rome to confer with the new emperor. B-ut while they were sailing along 
by the coasts of Achaia, they heard of the emperor's death ; and although King 
Agrippa thought best to proceed to Rome, Titus was induced to return to 
Vespasian at Cesarea. 

33. "And now they were both in suspense about the public affairs, the Ro- 
man empire being then in a fluctuating condition, and did not go on with their 
expedition against the Jews, but thought that to make an attack upon foreign- 
ers was now unseasonable, on account of the solicitude they were in for their 
own country." Thus was the siege of Jerusalem delayed for a long time ; 
while the invaders are concentrated in Cesarea, waiting for orders from the 
emperor. 

34. The first movement of the army in the next campaign, was on the 5th 
day of Sivan, just one year from the time Vespasian came to Cesarea to pre- 
pare to go against Jerusalem. And now, after this year's delay, Vespasian 
"marched against those places of Judea which were not yet overthrown." 
This was the march that was intended to lead to Jerusalem. We can plainly 
perceive the direction of the route : it was from Cesarea on the coast to the 
•' mountainous country," where they " took those two toparchies that were 



APPENDIX. 465 

called the Gophnitich and Acrabattene." Acrabi, -which gave name to one to* 
parchy, was in the southern part of Samaria, a little east of north of Jerusa- 
lem; Gophna, which gave name to the other toparchy, was directly north of 
Jerusalem. Coming from Cesarea to these places, the army went in a southerly 
course, hearing to the east. 

35. The next movements were to take and garrison Bethel and Ephraim, 
two small cities in the vicinity of Gophna, and of course directly north of Je- 
rusalem. And from this point, Vespasian " rode as far as Jerusalem, in which 
march he took many prisoners and many captives." The approach to the 
city, then, was from the north. At this time, one of the commanders was 
dispatched with a body of horse and foot to lay waste the part of the country 
that was called Upper Idumea. This appears to have been the hill country 
south of Jerusalem. In this expedition, Hebron was taken and destroyed. 
And now " all the places were taken, excepting Herodium, and Masada, and 
Macherus, which were in the possession of the robbers." Thus those very 
places which the Romans had not conquered were east, or easterly, from Jeru- 
salem, as may be seen by the maps. SoinuchfortheoKratfiowof this "lightning ! " 

36. Nothing was done to subdue the metropolis at this time. It would 
seem as if Providence had determined to warn the people, and to show them 
their danger, time after time, and year after year, before inflicting the final 
blow. For now, after subduing the neighboring country, and marching to see 
the city, Vespasian led his armies once more back again to Cesarea. So much 
for the suddenness and unexpectedness of this "lightning!" If the matter 
were not too serious, it would be a beautiful subject for derision or jest. 

37. Now the news came of another overturn of the imperial power, and 
that Vitellius was emperor. This exciting the indignation of Vespasian and 
the army, it was determined by the soldiers in Judea that Vespasian should 
be emperor himself. So they made the proclamation, and the general was 
induced to accept the title. The thoughts of Vespasian and the army were 
now for a time withdrawn from the Jewish war, and engaged with the affairs 
of the government of the empire. And at this time Vespasian removed to the 
city of Berytus, north of the Jewish provinces. After remaining for a time 
there, he removed to Antioch, the capital of Syria. It was now the " middle 
of winter," but little had been done in the Jewish war during the previous 
campaign ; and, indeed, comparatively little had been done for a year and a 
half. Thus ended the second invasion of the Jewish territories during this 
war; and Jerusalem was yet unconquered; and, except the abortive attempt 
of Cestius, the city had been unvisited by any direct infliction from the Ro- 
man power. 

38. We are now to consider the third and final invasion of the Romans. The 
next spring, in the year of our Lord 70, after the imperial government had 
become somewhat settled, " Vespasian turned his thoughts to what remained 
unsubdued in Judea." He was then at Alexandria in Egypt. Finding it ex- 
pedient to go to Italy himself, he left the finishing of the war to his son Titus. 
Josephus has left us sufficient information of the marches and operations 
of this last invasion. "We can do no better than to quote his very particular 
account nf the. appro<»oh of the army. 



4:66 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

39. Starting from Alexandria in Egypt, a little south of west from Jerusa- 
lem, we thus trace their progress : Vespasian " sent his son Titus, with a se- 
lect part of his army, to destroy Jerusalem. So Titus marched on foot as far 
as Nicopolis, which is distant twenty furlongs from Alexandria : there he put 
his army on board some long ships, and sailed upon the river along the Men- 
desian Nomus, as far as the city Thmuis : there he got out of the ships, and 
went on foot and lodged all night at a small city called Tanis. His second 
station was Heracleopolis, and his third, Pelusim. He then refreshed his army 
at that place for two days, and on the third,, passed over the mouths of the 
Nile at Pelusim. He then proceeded one station over the desert, and pitched 
his camp at the temple of the Casian Jupiter, and on the next at Ostracene. 
This station had no water, but the people of the country make use of water 
brought from other places. After this he rested at Rhinocolura, and from 
thence he went to Raphia, which was his fourth station. This city is the 
beginning of Syria." 

40. The army has now reached the border of the Jewish country. By what 
course did they come ? Was it " from east to west" as so many have supposed? 
No ; but as nearly opposite to that course as the situation of the country per- 
mitted. We will now follow their marches in the Jewish territories. " For 
his fifth station, he pitched his camp at Gaza : after which he came to Asca- 
lon, and thence to Jamnia, and after that to Joppa, and from Joppa to Cesarea, 
having taken a resolution to gather all his other forces together at that place." 
They approached the country at its south-west border, and first marched north- 
east, then nearly due north, to reach the place of general rendezvous, to pre- 
pare for the siege of Jerusalem. 

41. From Cesarea, then, on the western border of the country, and a little 
west of north of Jerusalem, the army is concentrated for its march upon the 
metropolis. Their approach to the city will not be exactly as one excellent 
divine has it, who only a little improved upon the fashion of saying that the 
route of the Romans was indicated by the lightning flashing from east to west : 
" — By the sudden and general meeting of the "Roman armies in march, from 
the east to the west, all hastening from the Mediterranean coasts on the east(!) 
toward Jerusalem on the west " ! ! 

42. Titus, when he had gotten together part of his forces about him, and 
had ordered the rest to meet him at Jerusalem, marched out of Cesarea. He 
had with him those three legions that had accompanied his father when he laid r 
Judea waste, together with that twelfth legion which had been formerly beat- 
en with Cestius." In approaching Jerusalem, it was judged expedient not to 
go up all in a body, but to take the three principal routes from Cesarea to Je- 
rusalem. Titus, with the main body of the army, went up through Samaria 
to Gophna, where there was already a Roman garrison. After making a little 
detour to the east, in order to reach the main road through Samaria, the course 
of Titus in approaching the metropolis was from north to south. Reaching 
Gophna, directly north of the city, he halted for one night ; then he came to 
Gibeah of Saul, three or four miles north of Jerusalem, and made his encamp- 
ment. 

43. The tenth legion he directed to go up through Jericho. Now it is cer- 



APPENDIX. 467 

tain that Jericho was only a little north of east of Jerusalem. In going from 
Jericho to Jerusalem, it is admitted distinctly that this part of the army ap- 
proached the capital from the east. And, as in the case of the six hundred 
under Placidus, so in the case of these six thousand, the full benefit of this 
admission is offered to those whose whole force of exegesis of an important 
passage depends on the assumption that the Romans " invaded ." and "con- 
quered " from east to west. 

44. But there are several things to be considered in connection with this 
approach of the tenth legion. 

(1.) It was neither an invasion nor a progressive conquest ; they were al- 
ready in the country, and the whole territory through which they marched 
had already been conquered. 

(2.) The starting point in this very march was west of north of Jerusalem ; 
and it was only by making a detour to an eastern road, leading from north to 
south, that they happened to finish the march by going about half as far from 
east to west, as they had previously gone from west to east ; so that, in fact, 
taking the whole march together, they went twice as far from west to east, as 
they did from east to west. 

(3.) This, after all, was not the Roman armies, nor the Roman army : it 
was only a part, and comparatively a small part. If the commentators had 
only this legion in view, and had notified us of the fact, it would have saved 
the world some trouble and some injury. But what kind of justice or sense 
is there in seizing upon the exception to a general truth, and making it the 
criterion of that truth ? If this method of reasoning should be generally 
adopted, we should have to bid farewell to all sense, and to all certainty. 
The reader will forgive this extended notice of what, it might be supposed, 
no man would be likely to consider worthy of notice, for the attention of the 
writer has been gravely called to this eastern detour in the march of this le- 
gion, as a confirmation of the justness of the comparison of the march of the 
Roman army to the lightning shining from east to west ! 

(4.) Finally, it would seem as if Providence had so directed, that any im- 
portance being attached to the march of this legion should be completely neg- 
atived, by the fact, that the 5th legion was directed to go up to Jerusalem by 
Emmaus. Now, by consulting almost any map, particularly Robinson's, it 
will be found that Emmaus is the same distance and direction westerly from Je- 
rusalem, that Jericho is easterly. Consequently, the legion coming through 
Emmaus approached Jerusalem just as much from west to east, as the legion 
coming through Jericho approached from east to west. And if any importance 
is to be attached to a slight detour in the march of a small part of an army in 
a course almost due south, then we will offset the Jericho detour by the detour 
of Emmaus. 

45. The Jewish people knew, of course, the whole history and progress of 
the war, and were not unapprised of this renewed invasion, and approach 
to their metropolis. There is nothing in the whole history, which, properly 
understood, goes to show that they were taken by surprise, or that the Ro- 
mans were more than usually rapid and sudden in their conquests and march- 
es. The appearance of the Roman army before their walls Was what they 



468 harmony and exposition. 

had long expected and fully prepared for. It is proper to say, that the prin- 
cipal encampment of the army was on Mount Scopus, on the north side of the 
city, and that the northern part of the city was the first assaulted and the 
first destroyed. And the progress of conquest in the city was either from 
north to south, or from west to east. 

46. Candor requires the admission, that there is one paragraph in the his- 
tory which may seem to show that the approach of the Romans at this time 
was sudden and unlooked for. It is in B. 5, c. 2, s. 4: "Now, when hitherto 
the several parties in the city had been dashing one against another perpetu- 
ally, this foreign war, now suddenly come upon them after a violent manner, 
put the first stop to their contentions one against another ; and as the sedi- 
tious now saw with astonishment the Romans pitching three several camps, 
they began to think of an awkward sort of concord, and said one to another, 
" "What do we here, and what do we mean, when we 6uffer three fortified 
walls to be built to coop us in," &c, <fec. 

47. To interpret this as if the Jews did not expect the Romans to come into 
the country, or to attack Jerusalem, would be doing violence to the whole 
tenor of the history. The allusions to their expectation of the Romans, and 
to their determinations and preparations to resist them, abound in every part 
of the history. To suppose that there was any uncommon haste, or anything 
out of the usual course, in the approach of the Romans at this time, would be 
supposing what has no countenance whatever from the history. The passage 
should be understood with reference to two prominent facts with which it is 
connected : 

. (1.) For several years they had seen the war rage all around them, but it 
had not before approached their walls. Many times when they had every ordi- 
nary indication that the siege would soon be attempted, they were disappointed, 
and suffered to go on unmolested. In this case, however, the war had really 
come to their very gates : after so long looking for it, and after so many un- 
realized alarms, which tended rather to make them disregard alarms, the ene- 
mies were actually in their vicinity ; they were rearing their encampments 
within sight of their walls. 

(2.) Another thing to be considered is this: during these approaches, alarms 
and delays, the city was terribly afflicted by dissensions among the different 
parties within: So full of jealousy and hatred were they, that, at times, the 
contending partizans seemed almost to forget that they were environed about 
by prowling armies and fortified garrisons. And when, after so much expec- 
tation and surprise, the seditious contenders within the city beheld their 
worst fears realized by the actual presence and warlike array of their enemies 
there was, with "the seditious," a degree of surprise and astonishment 

48. Viewing the passage, as it should be viewed, as being in harmony with 
the remaining portions of the history, the most that can be made of this para- 
graph, is, that "the seditious" portion of the city were so occupied, at this 
time, with their intense mutual hatred and jealousies, that, though long 
looked for, and prepared for, yet the investing of the city at this time was 
comparatively sudden, and to those whose whole attention had been occupied 
with their own internal commotions, when they beheld the realization of what 



APPENDIX. 469 

had an hundred times been predicted by their more prudent brethren, they 
saw the warlike array "with astonishment." 

49. But what is there in all this, even admitting all that the words can 
properly import, that can, by any appropriate use of language, justify a re- 
ference to the lightning flashing in a moment over the whole heavens, as an 
illustration of the invasion, conquest, and desolation of the Romans during 
this war ? The inevitable impi-ession that such a comparison is designed to 
make, is, that the Romans burst into the country unexpectedly, and swept 
over it with a destructive rapidity that knew no parallel, and could be liken- 
ed to nothing better than the instantaneous, unlooked for, unprepared for elec- 
tric blaze that scorches and withers with no premonishing indications. This 
is the popular creed, as the reader has already discovered by the numerous 
quotations from standard authorities. 

50. But, reader, supposing you to have carefully read either this abridge- 
ment, or the original work, what have you found to justify the popular illus- 
tration of the lightning ? "What have you found, which you are willing spe- 
cifically to mention, that can, by any justifiable license, be compared to the 
flashing lightning? In relation to the direction of the lightning from east to 
west, and to its application to the approach and conquests of the Romans, you 
have seen, for yourself positively and undeniably, that the whole is a mere fiction, 
without a single appropriate instance to justify it, and with the entire history of 
the war proving it to be without the slightest foundation. 

51. And with regard to the suddenness, the rapidity, and unexpectedness of 
the invasion and conquests, as compared to the electric flash filling the hem- 
isphere in a moment, what have you found that ever could have suggested, 
or ever can justify, such an illustration ? "Was the war unexpected ? The 
history has many distinct affirmations that the war was expected, yea, even 
sought tor and provoked by a large proportion of the Jews and that the more 
prudent among them, both rulers and people, were perpetually advising, warn- 
ing, and struggling against it. Nothing can be told more clearly than this. 
And it will not fail in its application to the final siege of the metropolis, not- 
withstanding the comparative suddenness of the siege, and the surprise of 
the seditious. For their very surprise, under the circumstances of the case, 
could have resulted only from long expectation and suspense unrealized, until 
they had, for a time, apparently lost sight of the facts in the case, and almost 
ceased to expect what they had so long waited for without having their fears 
realized. 

52. And in regard to the rapidity of conquest, — what was there to justify 
its comparison to the lightning's flash ? Was it more rapid than the Roman 
conquests in general ? Would not many of Bonaparte's campaigns equal this 
both in extent and rapidity ? Would not the late war with Mexico afford an 
instance just as worthy of such a comparison ? And yet where is the sane 
historian that would venture to make a comparison like the one in question, 
in reference to these modern conquests ? The appeal is, of course, made to 
those who have investigated, to some extent, the matter in question. Has 
there not been a gross misunderstanding of this whole matter? Has there 
not been an indulgence of fancy that is really out of place ? And have not 



470 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

many been satisfied with mere assertion, -without asking for the facts to prove 
them? 

63. There is one question more, for the asking of which, the writer begs 
pardon of those to whom it does not apply : the question is propounded with 
no little mortification and pain: it is this — Are we not compelled to believe 
that there are some who are so unwilling to be convinced that our great men 
have fallen into a mistake on this subject, that no strength of argument is 
sufficient to make an impression upon their minds? The writer has had pain- 
ful experience on this point, and has not written this section without occasion. 
And this is one of the sources of regret which the mistake in this^matter has 
occasioned. The writer has no disposition to diminish the respect and confi' 
dence which it is natural for the people generally to feel for men of great 
learning : he moves in this matter with reluctance, and after several years of 
hesitation. He is duly apprised of the unpopularity — not to say, jeopardy — 
of arraying himself against the popular exegesis of an important passage, 
and bringing his own opinion into conflict with the opinions of so many men 
of titles and learning. But, after all, this is not properly a matter of opinion: 
it is, in reality, a matter of fact, to be decided by available evidences. And 
this, as the reader has perceived, is the precise nature of this effort; it is to 
show what the facts in the case were. If it were an array of name against 
name, or opinion against opinion, this Treatise would never have been sent 
forth to the world. But it is, as the case shows for itself, an array of facts 
against assertions. And, what is a little remarkable, the facts themselves are 
derived from the same source that is so confidently appealed to, to sustain the 
assertions. 

54. Once more : The inquiry will undoubtedly be made, were not these 
facts as accessible to the authors who are said to have misunderstood them, as 
they are to the writer of this Treatise; and were they not as capable — yea, 
infinitely more so — of undei*standing them ? Most certainly. How, then, is 
the matter to be -explained? Well, although this does not properly belong 
to the writer, yet it will not be inappropriate for him to offer one or two sug- 
gestions by way of explaining the mystery. The probability with most of 
the authors in question, and the certainty with respect to some of them, will 
lead us to conclude, that the subject before us was never investigated by them 
personally. Bishop Pearce wrote a Dissertation on the Destruction of Jeru- 
salem, which was published, it appears, near the latter part of the last century. 
This work the writer has earnestly, but vainly, tried to procure. The Bish- 
op introduced an observation, stating that " the Romans entered into Judea on 
the east side of it, and carried on their conqitests westward, as if not only the ex- 
tensiveness of the ruin, but the very route which the army would take, was 
intended in the comparison of the lightning coming out of the east, and shi- 
ning even unto the west." Bishop Pearce professed to derive the proof of 
this remarkable assertion from Josephus. "Well, now, Josephus is admitted by 
all to be good authority in this matter, and the learned prelate is admitted to 
have been competent to understand him. 

55. But, however unaccountable it may appear, the fact is, the Bishop did 
not understand Josephus : thjis we have demonstrated from the history itself: tto 



APPENDIX. 471 

Ramans did xot enter into Judea on the east side of it ; they did not carry on 
their conquests westward. But the Bishop said they did; and he was deemed 
too good authority to be mistaken in so plain a matter ; and from him the fic- 
tion has come down to us through almost the entire generation of commenta- 
tors that have flourished since that time. Bishop Newton adopted this obser- 
vation of Bishop Pearce, and brought it into his Dissertation on the Prophecies; 
and, confiding in the ability and faithfulness of his predecessors, did not deem 
it necessary to undertake the labor of a personal examination. And, as would 
appear from the evidences in the case, all, or most, of the subsequent writers, 
having access to Newton on the Prophecies, have, without personal investiga- 
tion, adopted the ingenious fiction ; and so it has become immutably incorpo- 
rated with our best standards of Bible exegesis. Even now, as the reception 
of this Treatise will demonstrate, people are disposed to adopt implicitly, and 
without personal investigation, almost anything that our great men are indu- 
ced to affirm ; for, as it will be generally, and is generally said, can it be pos- 
sible that 6uch men as Newton, Clarke, Watson, <fec, &c, could be mistaken 
in so plain a matter ? We have only to suppose that Bishop Newton had the 
same feeling in respect to his illustrious predecessors, that we perceive all sub- 
sequent writers have had for Newton himself, and the explanation of the 
mystery is easy, as it relates to writers subsequent to Newton. 

56. How Bishop Pearce fell into so palpable a mistake, the writer does not 
undertake to say ; for, as he has not succeeded in procuring the book, he can- 
not tell how the unfortunate circumstance occurred. It is probable, however, 
that the good prelate, writing at that moment rather carelessly, mistook the 
points on the map, and transposed the east and west. This we know was done 
even by Richard Watson, as maybe seen by his note on Matt. xxiv. 27. And, 
inasmuch as such a man as Richard Watson could make such a mistake, why 
not Bishop Pearce ? 

57. The subject cannot fail to suggest some rather humiliating reflections 
on the custom of our commentators in copying one from another, instead of 
going to the original sources of truth. The writer cannot express his own 
views on this subject, better than to adopt the language of a noble writer in 
the Meth. Quar. Review, for 1849, p. 187. The writer alluded to, however, 
refers to an entirely different subject. Speaking of the difficulties that were 
in the way of investigation, he says, — " But a more formidable one is to 
be found in the fact, that commentators have continued, age after age, ser- 
vilely to copy each other's expositions, with scarcely a single deviation from 
the beaten track." 

58. Finally, the subject of this investigation must be admitted to deserve 
the attention of the profoundest intellects ; for the improper exegesis of the 
27th verse of the 24th chapter of Matt., cannot fail to work immense injury to 
biblical knowledge. So long as that verse is allowed to be explained away 
from its literal and legitimate meaning, by this popular use of an absolutely 
groundless fiction, so long distrust of the literal teachings of the Bible, and 
resort to probable and improbable fancies, will weaken and destroy the force 
of those tremendous truths which were designed to intimidate the audacious, 
and warn the unwary. If this effort shall succeed in arousing the attention 



472 HARMONY AND EXPOSITION. 

of the church to this matter, however much the writer may suffer by his pi- 
oneer publication, he will be grateful for the opportunity that permits him to 
call attention to this matter. And, especially, as the proper investigation of 
this subject will be likely to lead on to a great reform in the manner of ma- 
king and using exegetical publications. 

Note. — As this was not designed for a general Abridgment of the History, 
but only a limited one for a particular purpose, it is not necessary to extend 
it any further. It should always be read in connection with the comment on 
Matt. xxiv. 27. 

Particular information respecting many other things -which happened du- 
ring the war, may be found in several of the first chapters of the Exposition, 
where such information was deemed appropriate. 



THE END 



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